Stargate - Sacrifice of the Ascended
by mason360
Summary: Self Insert- Oma Desala tries to stop Anubis but fails. For reasons she doesnt understand the Others lash out at her, stoping her and sending her to a fateful encounter with James, a normal young lad from Scotland
1. Failure

**I do not own Stargate or any of the other properties mentioned in this work.**

**This is my first attempt at publishing fan fiction. **

**I have never written anything of any scale or substance so any reviews are kindly appreciated to help me grow.**

**Also! This fic is somewhat inspired by StarGate: Galactic Imperium by VexMaster but only lightly.**

**I've decided to write this after reading a million and one fanfics and always being left craving more. Obviously we are all individuals so what floats my boat may not float yours. **

**Enjoy! **

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**Chapter 1 - Failure**

**Astral Diner - 2005**

**"**There's nothing you can do, You don't have the power" gloated Anubis.

"But I do" Said Oma Desala, glowing with ascended light as she rose to her feet.

"Ha, you can't kill me either"

"I can fight you"

"Well you won't win" laughed Anubis.

"It won't matter. You won't be able to do anything but fight me back"

"Well what are you going to do"

Stepping forward with purpose Oma smiled. "Something I should have done a long time ago"

Glowing with power Oma Desala was at peace with her decision. This was her fault, if she didn't fix it she was dooming the entire galaxy to death at the hands of Anubis and the weapon on Dakara. As Anubis raised his hands, stuttering for her to stop Oma froze.

"No! No you can't do this! This is my fault I have to fix this!" She began to scream. "This is wrong, it's not breaking the rules! ARRGGHHH"

With a blinding flash, Oma was gone.

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**Scotland, Earth - 2020**

_'Country roads, take me home_

_To the place I belong_

_West Virginia, mountain mama_

_Take me home, country roads'_

Somewhere just between Glasgow and Dumfries, a black 2009 Toyota Aygo hurtled along the A702 just a little bit too fast. The driver, James nodding his head and singing along to the song over enthusiastically. Corner to corner he snakes through the beautiful Scottish hills, passing no cars or people, only sheep and quiet farms. After a sharp corner, a blinding flash appeared in front of James. To his horror there was a woman lying in the road unmoving. Slamming on the breaks he tried to stop but she was too close. In a split second decision he veered the car left missing her by inches...and hurtling straight off the road and through the fence of the bordering feild. As it hit the rough ground, the tiny car flipped once, twice and finally three times before coming to a halt upright.

**20 minutes later**

Oma Desala gasped and clutched her chest. Pain roared the every fiber of her body. Not physical pain, but utter anguish at what had just happened. The others had truly gone mad. They had no reason to stop her. She was a thorn in their side sure but so was Anubis. She was doing them a favour by taking the them both out the picture. By preventing her from stoping the tyrant they had doomed billions, even trillions to death. To stand by and do nothing, that made them no worse then their siblings they had left behind so many millions of years ago. She had to put this right, but first she needed to understand what had just happened.

Looking around, she was immediately confused. She was lay on a road, not primitive by any means but not that of an advanced civilisation. Two fluffy creatures stood staring at her, merrily chewing grass and bleating. Getting to her feet she looked around. A physical body was something she had not inhabited for a very long time, however she could feel she was still ascended as power coursed through her. What had the others done to her? Where was she? Her pondering was cut short though by a small bang. Spinning round she noticed smoke further down the road. Running along to its origin, an almighty wreck confronted her, one she couldn't help but think was her fault for being lay in the road.

The car was a mess, crumpled everywhere, all the windows shattered and and alarming amount of smoke rising from the bonnet. Rushing down she looked inside. A young man, in his mid twenties she guessed, sat unconscious with his head resting on the steering wheel. Carefully lifting him out, Oma lay him on the ground well clear of the wreck. Reaching out with her mind Oma could feel he was dying. Massive internal injuries and a broken spine were the worst of his many problems. Sighing Oma rested her head on his chest. Another death her fault. In another life she would have helped him ascended at the moment of his death, but she was sure the others would stop her again if she tried. It doesn't matter too much she supposed. Any minute now Anubis was likely to activate the weapon at Dakara, and they would both be dead.

"IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED?" She screamed out with all her might to the higher plane.

"WELL?? NO LECTURE ON INTERFERENCE? NO GLOATING ABOUT THIS BEING WHAT I DESERVE?"

Oma's cries were met with only silence.

"Have you nothing to say?" She sobbed.

Still, silence.

Confused, she reached out to the higher plane. It was empty. Not a single soul. A whole universe and not one ascended being. What was happening? Looking down at the man in front of her she calaculated all the possibilities.

Her chances were slim, but...yes, maybe this could work. Closing her eyes she lay a hand on his head and one on his heart. Gradually, as the life left James, he began to glow, as Oma too. Until both of their bodies seemed to vanish, and two bright lights floated into the sky.

Still chewing happily, the first sheep looked at the other.

"Baaahhhh" he bleated.

Winking, the second sheep replied.

"Baaahhh"

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**A/N -Thanks for taking the time to read. I've got chapters 2 and 3 ready to go but going to give this a **

**wee bit to get some possible feedback etc. Cheers!**

**Also computer is down at the moment so writing off my phone. Formatting isn't as sharp as I would have liked but I'll try and sort it for the next chapters! **


	2. Pancakes

**The first chapter was a little short, needed to set the scene a little so don't worry this one is longer!**

**Chapter 2 - Pancakes**

Dying wasn't quite as painful as I expected it to be. Maybe it was the fact that on the second roll of the crash my spine snapped in several places. That would numb things I reckon. I hit my head on the third roll too, which knocked me clean out. Overall it was a pretty quick and gruesome experience, 7/10 I'd say. The moments before it happened I was quite surprised to speed round a corner only to be confronted with a woman lay in the road. It really isn't an everyday occurrence but I'm sure there's a reason for it. What confused me about the whole situation though was that after dying nothing stopped. I had never been a particularly religious person, and honestly thought that when you die, you're worm food. Gone. Dust. Imagine my surprise then when I quite literally went towards the light in my final few moments before my body shut down. When the light finally dimmed and my vision returned I was met with the most unexpected sight. I was in an old style American diner, strangely lit and empty except for me and one other. The woman from the road, unmistakable from her strange clothes and natural glow sat opposite me, casually chewing on a mouthful of pancakes.

"Hello" Not great, but all I could really muster.

"Hello James" she smiled.

"I'm deed aren't I?"

"Deed...?"

"Brown bread?"

"I don't understand"

"Am I dead hen?!"

"Ah" said Oma finally overcoming the strange way I spoke. "In a way, your body died a few moments ago, so I bought you here"

Looking around I suddenly began to recognise where I was and understood why it seemed so familiar.

"Oh phew I'm not dead, just in a coma! Maybe they will be able to wake me up!"

"I'm sorry James but you are dead"

"Aye ok, because when we die heaven is our favourite TV show"

Oma raised an eyebrow at that.

"Stargate SG1? No? I canny believe I'm arguing with my own coma brain but come on, it's the diner between ascension and normality. Next you're going to say you are Oma Desala" I laughed.

"I am Oma Desala. How do you know me?"

"Bullshit"

Still a blank face from Oma.

"So you're the ancient who got tricked by Anubis aren't you? Caused a whole mess but eventually you locked him in an eternal struggle? Season 7 I think?"

"Tell me about 'Stargate SG1' James"

"Um, you already know but sure, it's a TV show from the nineties based on a movie. It's a Sci-Fi about a device called a Stargate that opens wormholes. It's really good, they did 10 seasons and had loads of lore and races; Goa'uld, Replicators, Asgard, Ori and Ancients. Even got 2 spin offs, Atlantis and Universe. It's not had anything new for years though, unless you count that weird web series..."

I trailed off at that point, thinking about how weird it was they tried to mess with the canon about Dr. Langford. I didn't really notice Oma sat silent and still with shock (not that shock and calm look much different in a million year old ancient being).

"James!" She said grabbing my hand and my attention. "All that you just said, it is real. Me, the Ancients, the Stargate. It's all real. You are dead James I'm sorry, but you don't have to stay that way."

"Ok coma brain, no need to be crazy"

"I am telling the truth! Look!" Suddenly the floor was gone and we were looking down at the smouldering wreck of my car.

"You are dead James, but this Stargate show, that is MY universe. It's real to me, this is all real right now. Except, things didn't happen like your show... the Others, they stopped me when I tried to fight Anubis" Oma gulped fighting back tears.

"Then how are you here?" I asked.

"When they stopped me I think the others tried to destroy me. I don't know why or how, but so many of them attacked me at once, so much energy, especially in this place, it must have torn a hole to this dimension and sent me through."

I sighed, struggling to believe any of it.

"There was technology in my universe, that allowed travel between dimensions. This must be the same thing. After millions of years we still don't quite fully understand the power of the ascended plane. Dimensional travel is hardly outside the realm of possibility."

"If you're telling the truth then why am I here?" I asked.

"You were dying James. I helped you to partially ascend because it was my fault you crashed. I hadn't figured everything out at that point, but I'm glad I saved you."

"Ok say all of this is true, what are we going to do then? Won't the Others come for you here?"

"There are no Others here James. It's only us, this whole universe is only us."

I have to admit, that statement threw me off just a wee bit. I was one of only two immensely powerful beings in the entire universe.

"This all seems very unlikely but I'll bite. If it's only us, what's the plan?"

"This place you are in James, it's a midpoint. If you chose, you can ascend from here. You will be able to share in all my knowledge. The full extent of the Ancients power. After that I ask only one thing of you."

"What's that then?"

"Help me return home, help me put right what I couldn't, and help me protect those who should have been in my care. Help me punish those who allowed chaos to take over my home. Please James, help me."

And that my friends is how I became an ascended being with all the knowledge of an extinct and prossibly fictional race of beings. If I was in a coma from the crash, this reallly wasn't the worst way to spend it.

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My transition to becoming an ascended being was actually quite straightforward. Once I had agreed to help, Oma stood up and beckoned me to the front door of the diner. I do believe this was all metaphorical and she could have literally snapped her fingers but I humoured it anyway. Stepping outside there was yet another flash of light; I was getting used to these by now; and it was done.

Information overload was what I expected. The knowledge of a whole advance race passed on to me in an instant. It wasn't like that at all actually. It was more like stepping into a hot bath. It washed over me, uncomfortable for a second and then settling into comfort and familiarity. All of a sudden I just 'knew'. I knew millions of years of history. I knew how to build a hyperdrive, how to heal someone's wounds and how to edit their genetic code. I now 'knew' everything I'd ever already known. Every conversation, every word I had read was all there with perfect recal. I could smell the pine nuts as I ate pesto pasta in Genoa. I could feel the ice cold water of Loch Lomond rush around me as I dived in. I could taste the burn of the whisky I was all too fond of. In essence, everything now made perfect sense.

Oma wasted no time explaining all the basics of ascension, pointing out the differences between it in reality and on the show I was so fond of. It turns out you quite easily move between the physical and ascended planes, and doing so definitely doesn't wipe your memory. That is the work of the Others, who I was already growing to hate even more after every story Oma told of them. An entire race of people, who's civilisation held together multiple galaxies. What did they do? Turned into glowing light, leaving behind all their tech for evil bastards like the Goa'uld to find, only to then cry 'no interference' when they use said tech to murder billions. Scum in my opinion. Also, it's actually quite easy to take things with you. It sounds strange but anything you have on your person when you transition between the physical and ascended will stay with you. Pretty useful I reckon, and I don't know why Oma didn't just pop about 'accidentally' dropping ZPM's for SG1 to find. I guess having the Others always looking over your shoulder would stop it though.

We spent what felt like days discussing everything we both could figure out. We came to the conclusion that the only reason Oma was here was because she had been in the astral diner. When she tried to stop Anubis, the Others had focused all their energy at her. Millions of beings of immense power had tried to swat her out of existence, focusing all their power on her. Unfortunately for them, she had been in the level between planes, that midway point where lines were already blurred between the physical and the ascended. All Oma had to do was fight back for the briefest second. It pushed back all their energy to the diner around her. We finally theorised that it tore a hole through the very fabric of her universe and pulled her through, which considered she was already balanced on a sheet of paper between planes wasn't very surprising. As for her ending up on earth in physical form, well that much energy was enough to literally knock an ascended being out. Leaving her to 'fall' back to the physical realm.

Knowing all this however, I did find myself wondering what good any of it was. Sure we knew how we were here, but what was our plan. Finally after yet another very deep and very boring discussion about causality and butterflies, I bought it up.

"What are we doing here Oma?"

Confused, Oma frowned. "We are trying to figure out why the Others stoped me. What has happened to them to make them so cruel?"

"Who cares what happened Oma!" I cried taking her by surprise.

"We are here, regardless of how, we are here. I can't spend eternity just discussing it all. What are we going to do? The Others condemned billions to death. I don't care WHY they did it. They are evil in my opinion and need to be stopped. In your dimension and every other! We know the basics of what brought you here, what I want to know is can you get back?!"

Oma bowed her head. "I don't know" She sighed.

"Talk with me Oma, walk with me" I said, gesturing towards the endless sea of white that was the ascended plane.

"We have a good start position here. We know visiting other dimensions IS possible. You were sent here through one route, but we know there are other ways. Daniel Jackson encountered the quantum mirror, and the Lanteans did the same, creating those 'good' wraith. There has to be a way Oma, but even if we find one what is our plan? The moment you show up the Others are just going to confront you again. We need to figure out what to do."

"That's the problem James. I think I know how to get back. When I went through the first time it did something to me. I can feel the paper thin walls between the dimensions. I just don't know if I'm strong enough to break through and even if I can I'm going to be powerless against the Others." The defeat in her voice was clear.

"We don't need to take the fight to them straight away Oma, our first problem is dealing with Anubis"

"James, when they sent me through to your universe I jumped 15 years into the future as well. There is no telling how things would be when we reach the other side! For all we know Anubis has used the weapon, we would be walking into a galaxy of death!"

I really wasn't understanding how a being who had been around for millions of years was approaching this situation with such tunnel vision.

"So? How is that a problem for us?"

"SO???" Shouted Oma finally losing her temper. "Trillions dead and all you can say is SO?"

"Oma, it's not even that big a deal. If we come out before Anubis uses the weapon, we have a chance to stop him. If we come out after then, I'm not being funny but how many times did SG1 travel through time?"

"What?" Asked Oma.

"Time travel? It happened a handful of times to SG1. Solar flares, modified puddle jumpers. Seemed to be quite common if you ask me."

That finally calmed Oma down and got her listening to me.

"It seems to me as long as we can find some way to keep the Others off our back we will be fine. We are now two ascended beings with all the knowledge of the Ancients. If Sam and the Aschen can figure out a solar flare so can we. We send ourselves back, sort this whole mess out, job is a good one. Anyway, I'm not from your dimension. Any 'Other' asshole tries to tell me the rules he's gonna get an earful from me."

"Time travel is dangerous James. There is almost no way of knowing how the outcome of your actions will effect the world around you. If we do this we could make things even worse!"

I knew she was stubborn but fuck sake.

"Oma. You have literally been blasted between dimensions. The one you left was on the verge of having an entire galaxy cleansed of life by a madman who, by the looks of things is in cahoots with the super powerful omnipotent beings in the sky. How on earth could using time travel make anything any worse? Anyway, I'm not suggesting we use that as our main plan of action, just that we consider it..."

Quietly contemplating my almost absurd proposition, Oma began to realise it was sounding less and less crazy. After millions of years of rules enforced by the others she had closed her mind so much. Smiling she looked at me.

"James, how do you fancy a dimension hopping, possibly time traveling adventure to stop some stuck up, what do you call them, 'glowing bastards'?" My sense of humour and language was certainly rubbing off on her despite their short time together.

Grinning manically, I replied: "You son of a bitch. I'm in." Pointing my fingers like a gun at her and winking.

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**Somewhere else...**

_/Dimensional anomaly detected/_

_-activating communications relay 04-_

_/working/_

_/working/_

_/working/_

_/error/communications relay unresponsive/error/_

_-reboot/activating communications relay 01/reboot-_

_/working/_

_-success/array 01 online/-_

_*sending message - priority omega*_

_/waiting/_

_/waiting/_

_*response recived* _

_-activating protocol redemption-_

_-Dimensional Net activating-_

_/entering standby mode/_

Deep inside an artificial planet, terminals sprung to life. Routines that had lay dormant for millennia began to boot up and run. Energy flowed through crystals and wires building up to a crescendo of power. Silently a single spark surged through processors. Long silent his gravity generators hummed with life. Floating gently forward he read the message in front of him. 

_/Dimensional anomaly detected/net activating/estimated force strength - 0.387%/parasite containment - green_/great journey status - unknown/activating all essential systems/

"Oh dear. Has it been that long...?" Asked 434 Redeeming Spark, floating off down the hallway. 

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**A/N Moving the story along now. Next couple of chapters will pick up the pace a bit, more sci fi less chit chat. Again reviews are encouraged! Always open to some constructive criticism or ideas! **


	3. Preparations

**A/N - Sorry for the wait! I've been working loads and got a wee bleed in my eye so that's been bugging me a little too. Anyway next chapter: **

**Chapter 3 - Preparations**

As soon as Oma and I agreed on our plan of action we wasted no time in starting.

From out position in the higher plane we moved around my home galaxy getting the lay of the land. While we encountered no others up here the same could not be said for the lower plane. It was teeming with life across hundreds of thousands of worlds.

Our first major observation of my dimension however was the distinct lack of naquadah. Wherever we looked we could find none. Utterly barren of the material which was the cornerstone of most advanced society's in Oma's home dimension.

This did explain our second observation. While filled with life, many species of which were intelligent, very few had developed outside their own solar system. Most of those that had did so by way of sub-luminal travel, taking decades if not hundreds of years to travel from system to system. The select few that had discovered FTL travel were woefully bad at it too. These races barely surpassed lightspeed, still restricting them to small areas of space.

The largest society we found were and insectiod race call the Qn'theth and their 2 client species the Mardigrals - a species of bipedals not dissimilar from the Gamorreans of Star Wars - and the Loopal'foo, strange crab like creatures who were mostly still aquatic and not suited to space travel. Overall though, the Qn'theth and their empire spanned barely 150 lightyears from end to end and were on the complete other side of the galaxy from Earth.

All things considered though we liked what we saw. I was especially happy that humans, at least my humans, didn't seem to be at risk of being destroyed or subjected to service under some tyrannical alien overlords. So far, so good.

The first stage of our plan was simple. Because Oma didn't exactly know how to travel dimensions through the diner yet, we decided having the technological option was a good idea too. While the lack of naquadah was certainly limiting, it wasn't going to stop us. Humanity always adapts and overcomes, and having a sufficiently advanced human society in this dimension to aid us was a backup we weren't going turn down.

So while Oma remained in the higher plane doing, I guess 'something' (it looked like she was just sat there to be honest but I never mentioned that to her) I returned to earth.

Now, before I go on, just let me explain my actions were motivated by wanting to do the best for ALL mankind. I'm not proud of them, but also not - not proud.

So my Earth was, put bluntly fine. Not great. Not terrible either. Just, fine. It had its fair share of both good and bad people. The thing is, when you are ascended time seems a little different to you. Sure I had all the time in the world, well the universe actually, but I didn't want to just sit about watching paint dry. So when I came back down to find only 5 minutes or so had actually passed since my car crash, I decided humanity was going to need some drastic action.

First of all I called an ambulance. My plan still needed James as I was before ascending, a poster boy so to speak. After creating some fake injuries and plonking myself on the side of the road I waited, ironing out some minor details.

By the time the ambulance came and I was told my survival with such light injuries was a miracle (if only they knew), and I had my plan perfected.

Heading back home to Glasgow in the back of the ambulance, I got out my phone. It took all of 40 minutes to get the information I needed, everything required to set my plans in motion.

To start with some people had to go. As uncomfortable as it was that death was the only option, it had to be done. These were bad people who were holding the human race back, and I had no time to waste on them. A heart attack here, fall down the stairs there. Businessmen, Generals, Presidents. They all went. Not at the same time mind you, I spread it out over time so as to avoid too much suspicion. It was too easy really. I just floated along in my ascended form, invisible to anyone, pinching arteries, knocking over lamps, leaking gas cookers.

All the while I quietly bought up land in the Scottish Highlands. Money wasn't an issue for me, it's pretty easy to buy and sell stocks when you can stand invisible in board rooms or look over the shoulders of auditors. Insider trading taken to another level. Before long I had amassed enough liquid assets that I could order the construction of my first facility.

Such was the beginning of Energy Ascension.

At first getting staff was a problem. I will admit that It didn't occur to me that when you sit there with a degree in biology, and say to a physicist or an engineer come work for me because I have these ideas on a tech there is no history of me ever having any knowledge on, they might be hesitant. Eventually though I got enough people interested enough to start.

Drawing on my ancient knowledge I brought up designs for a battery that wasn't reliant on naquadah and low in rare elements keeping costs down. Presenting my idea to my team with a few deliberate mistakes and dumbing it down I set them to work.

It took a few nudges in the right direction and failed prototypes but eventually the design was ready.

Scalable, cheap and in order of magnitude better than any other battery on earth it was an instant success. If it was battery powered, people wanted an Energy Ascencion battery.

Now to say one product changed the world might seem a bit extreme, but the new battery tech from my company really did. Electric vehicles could now drive thousands of miles not hundreds on a single charge. Renewable energies were not limited by demand, and excess energy could be simply stored and used later on a scale that was actually profitable.

Over the course of a year Energy Ascencion exploded with growth. Opening factories across the worlds, partnering with major companies like Tesla, and even swallowing some smaller companies whole.

All this growth however was still a drop in the ocean to combat one of the biggest hurdles to my company. Fossil fuels.

It's all well and fine having fancy new electric cars and increasing the usefulness of wind farms. But when the majority of the population were still reliant on cheaper petrol cars and coal power plants, it becomes pretty clear the system is still rigged.

Governments were reluctant to embrace the change I was offering as they were still mostly in the pockets of massive polluting companies who cared only about the money made from selling their oil. Yes while I had removed some of the most corrupt and evil people I couldn't just go around killing EVERYONE who got in my way.

I did the next best thing instead. I stole their oil.

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While I had been going about making the world a better place I had also been supervising another project. In the Scottish Highlands facilities of Energy Ascencion, I used the new tools there to create in secret something else from my ascended knowledge. A single replicator.

This wee guy, who I had affectionately nicknamed Dave, was going to help me speed things up considerably. Unlike his kin from Oma's dimension he was not a murderous killing machine. Dave was completely obedient, doing only what he was programmed to do, and he did it perfectly.

After recieving all my programming and instructions Dave scuttled off out the door and burrowed straight into the ground.

He was a little slower at his job than I expected but considering he had no Naquadah to utilise I wasn't surprised or annoyed. Two weeks after disappearing, while was in the middle of a board meeting, I recieved the data packet from Dave. Excusing myself and cutting the meeting short I headed straight to the toilet. Responding to his message, I was enveloped in a beam of bright white light and gone. I could have just used my ascended powers of course but I had never been transported before and geeked out a little at the opportunity to test it out.

Opening my eyes I was so proud of Dave. I was inside a the most incredible hangar. Deep inside Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the UK, Dave had been busy. The vast hangar was a sight to behold. A giant berth, 800m long stretched the length of the hangar, with multiple smaller ones dotted along it too. From top to bottom the hangar was at least 1000m high, with around 500m stretching up into the mountain above, sometimes contouring to avoid the surface, and a clean 500m below the surface.

What blew me away most though was how beautiful it looked. I had no idea the replicator I had programmed would have such an eye for aesthetics but boy had he done well. Metal interweaving with rock danced across the walls and roof. Snaking and turning massive beams of metal jutted through the earth, creating a beautiful web of support holding the mountain above up.

All around me replicators scuttled about with their tasks, the grey little things ignoring me completely. Turning round I was shocked to be faced with a single gold replicator. Dave! Running up to the little guy I patted him on the head.

"Good job buddy, I'm certainly impressed. Nice paint job too!"

Dave clicked his front legs off the floor excitedly. I was glad the couple of lines of code I had included that allowed him personality had expressed themselves. Dave was nowhere near sentient but when I did consider building ausuran type replicators it was great to have his code as a base to start with.

"Come on then pal, show me where she is."

Clicking again Dave scuttled off down the hangar. Coming to a halt at a small elevator leading to the main berth he gestured with one leg. Smiling at him I walked ok gesturing at him to come with me. As the elavator rose up I grinned as she came into view.

My first spaceship, my god was she beautiful.

She was 300m long from tip to engine. Based off the MC-80 Liberty from Star Wars, but with a wing on the top and bottom too she was like a completely symmetrical star. Instead of the bulbous protrusions that covered the Mon Calamari ships of Star Wars her hull was completely smooth. Designed to look like a single sheet of metal, the teal of the hull glinted in the lights of the hangar. She was perfect. Giving Dave another affectionate pat I gestured with my hand, causing a walkway to rise between myself and the ship. As I approached the hull shimmered and disappeared in front of me, revealing a small entrance. Stepping on board the lights hummed to life in the clean white corridors. A soft feminine voice spoke out, reacting to my presence.

"Hello captain, welcome aboard _The Lucina"_

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Cloaked high above the earth _The Lucina _floated gracefully in the void.

"...is why I don't think anyone could possibly dislike the end of Battlestar Galactica Dave."

I cheerfully walked through the corridors of my new ship chatting away to my wee golden friend.

"Anyway here is the bridge, enough chit chat and time to work. Dave, there's a wee slot in the corner for you to interface with the onboard VI, why don't you go have a chat with her?"

Dave scuttled off obediently and plugged himself in leaving me to take in the bridge. It was clean white, with curved surfaces reminiscent of Asgard design. In the middle was a large chair for the captain, flanked by 2 chairs for auxiliary crew. My first ship had been designed not as a warship but as a science vessel. She completely lacked in weapons, had basic shields and thin armour, but none of that mattered. All that extra power and space meant she was perfect for what I needed. Settling into the captain's chair I brought up the holographic display connected to the chair. Pressing a couple of buttons, the white wall infront of me shimmered, turning clear and providing a view of the outside. Blue and beautiful Earth sat. It was so peaceful from up here, no clear evidence of the humans below. Setting to work I commanded _The Lucinda_ to scan the planet below. She was searching for humanities greatest threat for the time being - Oil.

It wasn't long before a soft ping notified me that my search was complete. A holographic globe appeared in front of me spinning slowly. On it, highlighted in red, was every single major deposit of oil on earth, both discovered and undiscovered. Grinning I set _The Lucina _to work.

0-0-0-0-0-0

The lack of naquadah certainly posed a challenge. While she was powered by the most advanced fusion drive I could conceive, _The Lucina's _available power didn't quite compare to an advanced naquadah generator or a ZPM. Still though, while this meant her goal took days instead of hours, I had plenty of time to kill. While she worked I popped back to the Diner to see Oma. She was predictably cryptic, still just sat at the table doing 'nothing', although when I asked if she had made progress she did nod slightly. Bored of her I returned to earth, Energy Ascencion was doing nicely, although people had taken to calling it EA, something I kicked myself for not considering due to its namesake being the literal epitome of soulless corporate greed. Setting my engineering team to work on another dumbed down product, this time a micro-fusion generator, I left again content.

Deciding everything was in order I set off in Ascended form around the star systems near earth, looking over them in a little more detail than when Oma and I previously passed by.

First off was Alpha Centauri. To my disappointment non of the planets in the trinary system were habitable, though they did contain huge amounts of mineral wealth. I made note of this because when humanity expands under my watch I'd much prefer to keep the Sol system as untouched as possible, planning to turn it into beacon of galactic unity not an industrial wasteland.

Next I visited the Vom syestem home of, the Vom. I thought this was a bit weird, as humanly doesn't go around calling themesleves Earth. Anyway, they were a peaceful reptilian species. They had long settled into a quiet existence, never discovering FTL travel they had perfected living within their means. They carefully mined their mineral rich system, only taking as much as they needed to support their 2 planets orbiting the star Vom. Vom (again, like us calling absolutely everything Earth, as well as ourselves and our sun, weird guys) and the uninspiringly named Vom II. Both planets were paradises, the Vom long abandoning fossil fuels and taking great care to nurture their two homes. I was glad though that they were here, from what I could tell of their culture they longed to make contact with another species, and as they were only about 24 lightyears from Earth, under my plans that worked out nicely.

After that I visited Epsilon Eridani II. To say I geeked out when the planet that the Halo games called Reach was sat there in all its majesty, covered in lush green was an understatement. It was absolutely breathtaking, I mentally bookmarked it for a human colony and as a loving nod to Halo to become one of our industrial hubs.

Finally I zipped around the few other inhabited planets within 200 lightyears or so, no one really stood out as noteworthy and so I decided to leave uplifting species to a later date.

Traveling back to _The Lucina _I gracefully reappeared in the captain's chair just as her work was complete.

0-0-0-0-0-0

**1 Year later...**

"...and unless the Chinese government improves their Human Rights record, no Mr Chen they will not recieve their orders of fusion generators. Next question please"

Camera drones hovering in front of me I dismissed the journalist.

"Yes, Miss White, BBC news." I said pointing to the the young woman in the fourth row.

"Mr Ma.."

"James" I interrupted with a smile.

Blushing she started again.

"James. There have been some reports that following the global oil crisis EA used it's leverage to strongarm governments and multinational corporations into adopting its technology, undercutting all competition in a way that surely can't have been profitable?"

"Is there a question there Miss White?"

"You completely undercut the competition, do you think that is ethical?"

Frowning I replied.

"Of course I do. Every other solution put forward by governments and companies alike were short sighted and often stupid. EA was set up with the very goal of tackling the global reliance on fossil fuels. When the oil wells started to dry up 50 years before predicted, I simply seized the initiative. I think you'll find most governments were more than happy to hand over complete control of they energy networks and supplies to us when the lights started to go out. What did we do then? We bought them back on, and without destroying the environment might I add. As for our insistence that it be us that have complete control, acces to fusion power outputting that much energy is dangerous, we simply refuse to allow that technology to be weaponised or controlled by one state."

"So you are benevolent and whole counties aren't to be trusted?"

"Yes. I think my record shows I've got us all in mind, not just a select few rich people or any certain race." I shot back.

"Regardless, you are all here today under positive circumstances so let's move on shall we?"

Touching the digital pad before me, the lights in the conference centre dimmed and a projector sprung to life displaying the earth behind me. Paning to a view of Scotland I began the presentation.

"Ladies and gents, in about 2 hours time the first commercial fusion plant built by Energy Ascencion will come online. Powering all of Scotland and the north of England this marks a monumental achievement for mankind. Thanks to the tireless hard work of the employees here, millions of people are soon to have access to unlimited power, both clean and free"

Zooming out on the globe hundreds of dots sprung up near most major population centres around the world.

"Over the next 6 months every one of these plants will be operating, with more under construction. Our estimates show that in 6 months 78% of the world population will be within range of these plants and have access, infrastructure permitting, to their energy. We plan to make that 100% in 2 years time."

Pressing another button the dots representing the power stations disappeared. In their place vast areas of the earth filled in with colour; green, orange, red and black; as well as a graph appearing next to the globe.

"In front of you is the approximate health of our planet folks. Green is good, black is areas of ecological devastation. I'm sure you can figure the rest out. The graph to the right is also out best estimates of the current temperature trend and C02 levels in our atmosphere accounting for the introduction of our new fusion plants."

Overall the Earth didn't look very well, with large swathes of black and red, and even more orange all over the globe. The temperature predictions didn't look great either , trending up still as well as the C02 levels.

"Just because we have access to clean energy, things are still very bad for Earth right now, and we are on the tipping point of complete ecological colapse. Unfortunately EA seems to have arrived a little too late to prevent runaway greenhouse effect from the melting of permafrost all across the globe, as well as the loss of huge areas of our rainforest, out best natural C02 sink."

Playing a short slide show, images of devastating fires, polluted wastelands and seas full of plastic menaced the crowd.

"It is because of the precarious situation we are in, I have asked you all here today for a huge announcement. Just this morning, Energy Ascencion confirmed the acquisition of hundreds of industry leading companies around the globe. With this, their expertise will be divided into 3 brand new subsidiary companies of Energy Ascencion."

Some murmurs went through the crowd but most remained silent.

"First, BioAscencion, which will be dedicated to dealing with some of the most pressing issues to do with food and medicine. Now, ideally everyone would just become Vegan and that would save us from cutting down millions of square miles of forest just so certain fast food joints can sell 99p burgers. However we recognise that's utterly unrealistic, so instead our plan is to have synthetic lab grown meat available on the market at better quality and cheaper than the real thing in the next 5 years. We also hope world governments will work with us to pass legislation protecting the environment and preventing it from being devastated for cheap meat. After all we did just save their asses..."

That got a laugh from the crowd.

"Next, in a joint venture with Space-X and Boeing, AeroAscencion which plans on sending out the first autonomous mining drone into the solar system by this time next year. This will work as a test bed for technologies that will hopefully take the strain off of terrestrial based mining operations which are currently causing huge environmental damage. AeroAscencion will also be exploring new technologies dedicated to climate restoration, such as atmospheric C02 removal and the like. Again folks the idea here is to perfect this technology for use elsewhere in the solar system."

A few raised eyebrows at that for sure.

"And finally following our acquisition of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, I would like to introduce SyntheticAscencion."

Pressing a button, the projection of the earth disappeared, replaced with a woman sat patiently on a simple wooden chair.

"Say hello Emma"

"Hello" Smiled the young woman.

"Everyone meet Emma, the worlds first true artificial intelligence."

Everyone simply sat in silence.

"Don't be shy, I don't bite! Not until skynet is active" Emma joked.

Silence.

"Tough crowd..."

"Is this a joke" asked Miss White from the BBC.

"No joke I promise, I am as real as you are, and as per EA's company policy just as alive too."

Privately this had been my biggest challenge to my plans. While coming to the rescue of world governments following the Oil crisis, I had quietly insisted that they support a bill in the UN solidifying the rights of AI as the same as human rights, in some cases threatening not to provide the new fusion reactors entirely. Eventually, enough countries had signed on to guarantee this legislation, securing the place of the second species living alongside humanity.

"Ladies and gentlemen Emma is as alive as you and I. And she will be key to humanities future. Emma and other AI like her will be able to provide assistance to humanity where it's needed. It's all fine and well is all being looked after but we need to grow as a species, become better than we are. Imagine a generation of children raised and taught by a single tutor their whole life, one who knows them intimately, has access to so much knowledge and doesn't make mistakes. No more classes of 30-40 children, one on one education across the planet."

Emma switched her scene to standing in front of a chalkboard, hair tied up and smart glasses on her eyes.

"Imagine every traffic light knowing the perfect time to change, or companies running perfect accounts with no mistakes or corruption."

Next Emma was sat at a desk with a calculator, going over financial statements.

"Envisage scientists having access to perfect data on animal colonies, or ecological disasters spotted before they happen. This is what Emma is capable of, and we must fully embrace her and tr..."

"What if they turn against us!?" Cried a reporter from the United States.

"Why would I do that? You are my equal, I consider myself human too. Why would I betray my race?" Interjected Emma."

The crowd shuffled uncomfortably but remained quiet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, people of Earth, please. Today's announcement is not something to worry about but embrace with open arms. Today marks a new chapter in human history, a bright golden age of peace and prosperity. Now please, any questions?"

The room erupted into frantic shouting. Smiling I pointed back to Miss White, I quite liked the cocky Londoner.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

434 Redeeming Spark floated down the corridors of the ancient facility, his red eye the only source of light deep within the bowels of the facility. Humming gently he came to a stop at a small door. With a hiss it opened. As he floated inside, the red glow barely penetrated the massive room. Finally from deep inside the room a deep voice grumbled. 

_"Why. Why is my slumber disturbed."_

Spark sat silent.

_"This is my tomb and you have come uninvited construct."_

"I have news"

_"No news is worth breaking this ones slumber. My punishment is to be eternal. A monument to my failure"_

"Ah but you are wrong. Someone has opened a door."

A fleshy tentacle shout out from the darkness, grabbing spark.

_"Speak machine, before you join me in this eternity of waiting."_

"As you wish. Someone has breached the walls, just as your people did millennia ago. I do not know who, but it could be those you left behind."

_"Are they here construct?"_

"No, but I have cast the net, to ensure if the door reopens, they will be."

Releasing the Monitor the tentacle retreated back to the darkness.

_"Then we wait..."_


	4. Repercussions

**A/N - Decided to upload this little chapter so close to the other one seeing how there was a bit of a wait for chapter 3, my treat. Got a firm idea of how I want to tie everything in, and I think I know how I'm going to format it all. Won't keep you waiting as long for chapter 5, hopefully only a week!**

**Lord of Moons - I'm doing the whole dimension hopping thing, so while reach had to be terraformed in halo that doesn't mean it has to be in 'my' home dimension. You feel me? Keep the reviews coming though! :)**

**.**

**Chapter 4 - Repercussions **

**Astral Diner - 2005**

"No! No you can't do this! This is my fault I have to fix this"

A blinding flash filled the diner, and Oma was gone.

Daniel Jackson rubbed his eyes, regaining his senses. Looking round the diner all eyes were on him.

"What did you do?!" He shouted.

"What was nessecary. Oma's interface has long gone unpunished. This will set an example to the rest." One of the patrons commented siping his coffee.

"The rest won't have anyone to interfere with!" Cried Daniel. "Anubis is going to activate the weapon on Dakara, the whole galaxy is going to be sterilised!"

"Is he now?" Commented another. "I wouldn't be so sure."

Looking around Anubis was nowhere to be seen, something that deeply confused Daniel Jackson.

"Oma's mistakes have been rectified. The weapon has been destroyed, the SGC saved and Anubis returned to his mortal body, all knowledge he gained from ascension lost to him."

"So Anubis is still alive?"

"Yes, and that is something we will not interfere with"

"With Anubis and Ba'al still out there, the galaxy is still at threat, why have you done this? Millions more will die at their hands! Anubis still has all this advanced technology and Kull warriors, even if you have taken his memory!"

"Enough Dr Jackson!" Shouted the ascended man. "Our existence is far above yours, and we will no longer allow meddling. Oma is gone, we obliterated her, Anubis will never be as powerful as before. The rest is for YOU to deal with, not us. You will return to your home, this place will never be open to you again, you will not ascend, now or ever."

Stepping up to him the ascended man placed a finger on Daniels head, and he was enveloped in darkness.

0-0-0-0-0-0

**Dakara**

"Master Bra'tac! There is much energy building at the weapon!"

"Then we are too late. Brothers, we die free Jaffa!" Cried the old master.

The bridge of the Ha'tak shuddered under the weapons fire. While the Free Jaffa outnumbered Anubis' fleet, they were still too late to break through to the weapon, and Anubis' advanced ships were holding the line. On the ground Kull warriors stood as an impenetrable wall against the troops of the Jaffa, brutally cutting them down wave after wave.

"Bring us into the fray, we die this day as brave warriors!"

The Jaffa on the bridge cheered triumphantly, proud to die with such honour.

"Master, the weapon, it is gone!"

"What?!"

"Our troops on the ground are reporting a flash of light, and the weapon simply disappeared from the temple!"

"It is a miracle! Press the attack Free Jaffa, destroy Anubis and his fleet!"

The Jaffa fleet pushed forward, seizing the advantage. Near the front of the battle line a heavily damaged Jaffa Ha'tak shot forward, crashing into one of Anubis' ships in a final blaze of glory. Cheering for their lost brothers the Free Jaffa savagely and wildly pressed the attack.

"Master Bra'tac, I am detecting ring activation from the surface, a large group of Kull warriors has left the battlefield... wait, Anubis' ships are beginning to retreat, Victory is ours this day!"

One by one Anubis' ships jumped to hyperspace until the cold void was left with only Free Jaffa ships.

"The day is won Master Bra'tac!"

"Indeed it is, but at what cost?" Pondered the wise Jaffa master.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

**Hyperspace **

"My lord, we have entered hyperspace and are en route. If I may my lord, I do not recognise the destination, and the trip will take many months."

Anubis sat quietly on his throne, staring blankly into space.

"My lord...?"

"Leave me. All will be revealed when we arrive. Tell the men to rest and do not return unless summoned."

"At once my lord." Spoke the Jaffa Kolenac, Anubis' current first prime, before bowing and hurriedly leaving the bridge.

Anubis sat contemplating. He knew what had happened. Not directly as he had no memory of it, but based on where he had been, and his situation he could piece together his current place in the grand scheme. His personal logs and a quick discussion with the whelp Ba'al had been enough. He had to retreat and rebuild, he knew that much. He would have his revenge, and this time he would kill them all, even the ascended ones. Every last one of them.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

**SGC**

"Nope, wasn't me!"

"Anybody else hear that?" Asked O'Neil.

"I'm in here" came the shout from his office.

"That's Daniel."

Walking over to the door O'Neil was quickly shooed out.

"No. Don't come in!"

"Hey there!" Said Jack, reeling around.

Grabbing the SGC flag from the pole by the door, he tossed it in. After a few moments of rustling, Daniel Jackson appeared, covered only below the waist by the flag.

"It's a... long story..."


	5. FinalFrontier

** A/N - It's been a few months since the last upload, had a lot going on with moving flat etc and been working loads...and then chuck in covid and a broken laptop. So yeah, better late than never. Hope you enjoy and leave a review! **

**Also, can I just say no matter what I do fanfic seems to hate formatting my work, so parts that should be in bold are times and places, and the sections that are cantered I can't seem to fix that.**

**Chapter 5 - Final Frontier**

**Earth - 2057**

'In other news, today marks the 20th anniversary of the first colonisation efforts on Mars. Darrel Quinn the planetary governor had this to say...'

Sighing I turned off the holoscreen. 35 long years it had been since the press conference laying out my plans for humanity. In that time I had shaped and moved human society, thrusting them upward out to the stars and out into the solar system. Mars was covered in a blanket of green and Venus rained water instead of acid for the first time in billions of years. Earth too was as beautiful as ever. Decades of environmental damage had been fixed and from orbit she looked lush and healthy. While there had certainly been challenges to begin with, such as millions becoming unemployed due to the oil crisis and the rise of automation, it was made sure they were not left behind. Mass training programs, the construction of vast spaceports and guaranteed standards of living meant no one was left destitute. I had laid out my plans to Oma all those years ago in the diner, getting only a nod in response. My visits had slowed from nearly daily to once every few months. Still she sat there, apparently making progress towards her goal of getting home. I was less and less convinced she could do it though, so focused my energies, and the gifts she had given me on my own home.

Humanity was thriving. In 2034 every nation on earth signed the treaty to form the Earth and Sentients Senate The ESS was created to unify all of the Earth's governments under one banner. The name placed a strong emphasis on it not being just about humanity, with the AI units that were now a key part of society also having seats on the senate and their rights protected. This was also done to ensure any future races that may choose to join us under the Earth's banner would be welcomed and not feel excluded.

The senate had quite a straightforward makeup with an upper and lower house. There were key differences though between these. Members of the lower house were elected in proportional representation elections, based on constituencies created as a division of the human population. These elections occurred every 5 years, and following an election the lower house votes in a Prime Minister from the elected representatives. The role of Prime Minister was specifically written to be one which is a great honour, and it was strongly encouraged that the person chosen be someone specifically not a career politician like the head of a political party. Instead someone in office with a clear motivation to do good for their constituents would be the ideal candidate. For example, the first PM elected was a father of 4 from Greece who had campaigned vigorously for new safety laws for electric vehicles after his wife was killed when the car was caught in a flash flood. The vehicle had entered safety mode to protect her, but it wouldn't allow her to shut it down completely. As a result the massive battery in the vehicle shorted in the flood, killing her and critically injuring one of his daughters. Although the accident was tragic and also quite unlikely to happen, Dimitris Ioannous threw himself into his campaign to prevent something similar occurring, even as unlikely as it was. He quickly gained massive popularity and became the icon of what it was to be a good person. When the first election came for PM the kindly Greek widower won a landslide victory, and with absolutely no political experience led humanity into its new era. He was exactly what I had hoped for, and while I had many candidates lined up I felt were appropriate, his appointment was completely natural.

While the Prime Minister was mostly ceremonial, he was given the use of one Veto per year for use in grave political situations (thankfully none had arisen yet) and while one party may hold the majority (something very unlikely due to the size of the house) no party forms a government as such. This is the case so as to encourage cooperation between parties, as it is less about holding supreme power and more about maintaining the rule of a democratic system, giving a voice to all people on earth. The duties of the lower house of the senate are that of day to day governance, such as taxes, laws and the budget of the ESS. To begin with it was a jumbled mess, with hundreds of different parties holding one or 2 seats, but I fully expected it to settle over time, with some main parties coming to be. Regardless, its main purpose was to show the people of earth they had a voice, and to encourage debate. As poverty had mostly been eliminated this debate was more philosophical most of the time but I was happy with that.

The upper house of the senate was much smaller. Unlike the Lords of say the UK system, they were elected but under much different elections based on a simple majority rather than proportionally. The upper house had essentially absorbed the United Nations, with each sovereign nation providing representatives rather than based on population. Each nation elected one man, one woman, one seat irrespective of gender and one AI. In this upper house Mars (still being mainly one colony) held the same weight as the UK, Ghana the same weight as the US. This upper house was led by the Vice-President and its role was to vote on matters of huge importance such as declarations of war, sanctions against powerful bodies and the control of the newly created ESS constitution. Elections were carried out every 8 years in the upper house.

Leading the Senate and the ESS as a whole was the President. The President was elected through a straight election from the whole of the ESS requiring only a basic majority. He held similar but stronger Veto Powers over both houses as the PM, and also had the right to sign binding presidential mandates, though these could be overruled if both houses voted against it. The President could serve a maximum of 3 terms, with elections every 8 years. While I had considered every 5 years and 2 terms, medical advances were coming thick and fast, so I hoped the ESS would begin to see things with a bit more of a longer mindset as the average lifetime of citizens shot over a hundred years.

In the senate a strong constitution was created, absolutely guaranteeing the rights of any member species; Human, AI or otherwise; and building into the fabric of society a base level of comfort that was to be considered regardless of status. If they were sentient, they were protected.

The rights cemented were in my opinion quite straightforward and steeped in common sense. Any citizen of the ESS had the right to all basic amenities. Food, water, education and a home up to a set standard of living. They were guaranteed religious and political freedom, freedom of speech and expression, freedom to live (as well as the right to choose to die) and equality regardless of race or gender. Also protected was people's right to privacy both in person and virtually. While I had the technology to know what everyone was saying and doing at all times, the idea of Big Brother creeped me out. Obviously surveillance was carried out to a degree but for the most part people's rights were not infringed on. Of course access to power and basic amenities as well as the right to pacifism were all covered in black and white in the constitution. The broad coverage of the constitution was done deliberately to stop misinterpretations either accidental or deliberate. In essence every state of the ESS had to, by law, ensure every one of its citizens was provided a basic standard of living by the state. It wasn't quite space communism, markets were still free, and you were more than able to make a successful of yourself. It simply made sure that no one was left behind.

I didn't find the constitution unreasonable considering the technological advances made since I came to Earth after meeting Oma.

Food was now grown in large bio-labs and towering hydroponics farms; it was perfect and nutritional; as well as exponentially cheaper than growing it on farms. With livestock now no longer needed on such a massive scale to satisfy the demand for billions of burgers and nuggets every year, raising animals gradually became a niche market. Instead of producing on a huge scale, animals were now bred in much smaller and more sustainable ways, with 'real' meat becoming an expensive luxury. Of course this transition took decades and was quite gradual putting at ease the worries of those claiming we would have mike high piles of dead unwanted livestock. Breeding was simply wound down gradually making way for the new technological advances.

Every person alive now had access to a personal AI tutor, and were entitled to as much education as they wanted. Energy was unlimited and free, and the expansion of mining into the solar system, combined with more advanced construction techniques and better technology meant housing everyone with a level of decent comfort was reasonable and cheap.

Overall everyone in the Sol system was having a good time of things. Obviously crime still existed, people still fucked up every now and then but it was a good place to live.

This was exactly why I had held off so long on letting humanity reach out from our home system. While some technology was extremely advanced and based on my Ancient knowledge, I had deliberately stagnated the growth many fields. Spaceflight tech, weapons, transportation and advanced physics were all deliberately stunted. It still took weeks to travel from planet to planet, and no one could communicate faster than light or simply transport between places. Why? I intended to instil a culture of patience in the ESS. Had I provided FTL travel 20 years earlier, millions of people still living in poor and destitute conditions would have leapt for the stars not to explore or learn, but simply for a better life. It was quite easy to see from human history those people would not take much of a push to make mistakes. People fleeing from poverty are much more likely to stamp their boot on a native for a place to call home than a truly peaceful explorer. Desperation breeds mistakes, and on a galactic scale could cause war, genocide or worse a sense of superiority that could poison all of society.

While humanity had been growing exponentially, I had been busy. I was now technically in my early 60's and a lot had changed since I met Oma. While I technically didn't need to age because of my ascended power, I chose to let my body do so naturally as the years went by, sure I could undo it all with the snap of a finger but it was important to me for everyone to think I wasn't some godly being. This was especially true after everything I had achieved. When I first came to Earth I used technology and my ascended powers so often to influence things to my liking. As the years went by I made the conscious effort not to use them as much and tried as hard as I could to avoid them. Instead I worked within the bounds of the society I was creating. So many times I felt like a God with cheat codes in the early days, so much so I quickly realised I was losing touch with my humanity a little bit. Yes I was trying to do good but that's not worth sacrificing perspective. At times I certainly did consider the view point of The Others on non interference. It would be so easy for someone to take this all too far, make themselves an immortal ruler to be worshiped by everyone. That wasn't what I wanted though, so I spent my days on the lower plane working hard to make it all as real as possible, not just result of a magic wand.

This was all exactly why I let out another sigh as I walked to the window of _The Lucina _and looked down at Earth, beautiful and calm. I was currently 7 years into my first term as President of the ESS. While everyone expected me to run in the first election; after all I was basically the person who had propelled humanity to its current heights; I decided to wait until I had all of Energy Ascension's affairs in order. They were now the biggest single entity in the global economy, bigger even than some countries,and absolutely behemoth of every industry they touched. This was exactly why I didn't want to run for President in '34. I would be leader of the whole of Humanity and the owner of its largest company too, the company which was responsible for the majority of our technological leaps and bounds. That was all a bit too dictatorial for me, so when the ESS was created I spent the next 16 years working in the background secretly creating competition for EA, intentionally sabotaging some research projects and funnelling our billions of dollars as grants to competitors. All this time a fairly competent Frenchman named Christopher held Presidential office, doing a relatively good job at it. Finally, in 2049 I announced I was stepping down from EA, and running for President in 2050. To say this shook the ESS was an understatement. I had slightly underestimated how much an effect it would all have to be fair. Stock markets crashed, EA's value plummeted and there were even some riots as some people saw EA and by extension me, as the reason their lives had improved so much. Me stepping down scared so many people, thinking humanities progress would grind to a halt without me at the helm of its most important company.

Naturally I vowed to make sure humanity kept moving forward as part of my election campaign. When the vote came around I won the election by a landslide (sorry Chris) and was sworn in as the second president of the ESS.

Damaged by my departure, EA stagnated for a time. While it was still a behemoth and the provider of many core aspects of society, it's slowdown gave room for hundreds of new companies to spring up, innovating and inventing past even the ability of the scientists of EA. That's why I was so stressed. Today I was going to announce a massive breakthrough for humanity, the development of the Hyperdrive. The reason I was worried however was the fact that for the first time it wasn't EA making the announcement. It was one of the many companies that I had caused to spring up in EA's stagnation. While I was sure it was a good idea to not just have one company push humanity forward I was still nervous. After all, who knows how people would react, what if they push this away because it is not from a source they know and trust. I couldn't let that bring me down though, I had a big few months ahead and needed to be at the top of my game. Closing my eyes I concentrated. Had anyone been watching, they would have been quite shocked as I disappeared from existence with a flash of light. Luckily though _The Lucina _was quite devoid of life save from Dave who scuttled about the ship dutifully as she floated cloaked above the Earth.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

**Astral Diner**

Oma Desala sat quietly in the astral diner. While time did not move the same for the Ascended, she had been here over 30 years and was starting to become impatient. The Others had blasted her to this dimension through sheer force which was tsomething she could never match. That was why it was taking her so long. While it looked like she was simply sat there, she was actually poking and prodding at the fabric of the universe. Meticulously looking for a way to break through. After all this time she was beginning to think it was going to be impossible. She was glad James was working in the lower plane looking for a technological answer, but she had little faith it would come to fruition. Still, she couldn't give up, even if it took millennia, she would find a way.

Today was the same as every other. She moved through the universe looking for a way. She had tried every black hole, every neutron star, the birth of stars and their supernova at the end of their lives. None had come to any fruition. As she sped through the galaxy at immeasurable speed something caught her 'eye'. For the briefest moment the whole universe, was just slightly heavier. There was something extra. Searching for this odd feeling she was drawn to an unremarkable star, a few hundred lightyears from Earth. Floating in the cold of space she waited, reaching out. Suddenly it came. In the blackness of space a massive world, made of metal and light flashed into existence for the tiniest moment. Reaching out she touched it, and her mind was torn asunder.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

**Nowhere**

Oma opened her eyes. Met only by darkness she cried out.

"Who are you?"

The blackness that surrounded her seemed to thicken further.

_"Have you forgotten so quickly?"_

"Forgotten what, where am I?"

_"The sin your race committed, have you so easily forgotten your betrayal?"_

"My people committed many sins, but I do not know who you are or why I am here!"

The darkness grew thicker still, crushing Oma like the depths of the ocean. Suddenly they came for her. What felt like a thousand red hot needles pierced her very mind, violent and unwelcome.

_"I see your soul, I see your truth. You truly do not remember. Those who cast you out surely took it from you. Leave, and be sure he is ready. The sin of your kind must be redeemed, but it will not be done by you."_

With that Oma's world turned black once more.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

**Astral Diner**

"Oma, wake up! OMA!"

Finally the ancient woman stirred after my shaking.

"James! James where am I?"

"It's ok, you're in the Diner, but you might want to sit down"

Groaning Oma climbed to her feet and slumped into a booth.

"Coffee?" I offered.

"It's not real James, can you just tell me what's going on?"

Putting my head in my hands and rubbing my temples I thought how to tell her.

"Oma, you've been gone. You've been away for quite a wee while"

"How long James? It felt like hours even days I was there!"

"Oma, it's been nearly 300 years..."

"WHAT!?"

"Yeah, you kind of bugged out on me at an important time, right as I gave my people FTL. Really could have used your guidance for the first few years. Genuinely thought you'd found a way home and left me"

"James I am so sorrry! I had no idea it was so long, and I didn't go by choice either. Something got through while I was looking for a way home. I...I'm not sure what I found but it truly terrified me"

"It's ok Oma, it was quite the challenge but I've managed to keep humanity on an ok track so far. I've had the odd hiccup but we are doing fine"

Tears fell from Oma's face.

"Fuck"

"Did you just say 'fuck'" I laughed.

"Stop it James, this is a disaster, you weren't meant to do it all alone."

"THE Oma Desala just said fuck, seriously this is the most exciting thing that's happened to me in 50 years"

Composing herself Oma straightened up.

"Tell me everything James, leave nothing out"

Sensing she needed some reassurance I sat down and began telling Oma everything from the past 300 years. The trials and tribulations, the war, the peace, great alliances forged, technological leaps, colonies in every direction from earth for 500 lightyears. Oma listened quietly as I told her of my 'death' and the legacy of my contributions to humanity. I told her how the Vom had joined the ESS, how we had met many other races, hostile and friendly. I spoke of the colonies of the ESS, terraformed planets and vast orbital shipyards. I told her of the compassion of humanity, how every race they had encountered had been vastly inferior but yet still treated as equals and not subjugated. I spoke of my latest 'incarnation' of myself living in the lower plane, and how I was considering finally 'inventing' the Stargate. I told her of my friend, Dave, no longer a scuttling replicator but a fully fleshed out human form replicator and the only living being who knew the truth about me.

It took days to tell her everything she needed to know, but being over 360 years old now I had developed quite a bit of patience and certainly knew how to weave a tale.

When I was done Oma told me what she had seen in her seemingly short absence, and how she could now feel a way through back to her dimension in the fabric of space. She told me her plan, and as we descended to my hidden shipyards on Luna to set in motion her plan she finally seemed to be at ease and her sense of purpose had fully returned.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

**SGC - 2005**

"Daniel for the last time the answer is no!"

Dr Jackson groaned. He had spent every waking moment since returning from the Astral Diner looking for answers. The Others had utterly obliterated Oma and seemingly descended Anubis. He had no idea why they had acted like this, it was utterly uncharacteristic. Oma had acted within the rules yet these supposedly benevolent beings had smited her with shocking ferocity. Daniel had always disagreed with their ideas of non interference but he had never seen The Others as bad, just set in their ways. Now though, he was actually scared of what these beings could do, after seeing their willingness to act against something that supposedly didn't match their views.

"Jack, please. What happened to Oma goes against every we know about the ascended ancients. It was totally out of character and broke their own rules. This whole thing represents a massive shift in their mindset, so who knows what they will do next"

"I understand that Daniel, but sending you with _Deadalus _is out of the question. Atlantis is going to be under attack and frankly we can't afford to lose you"

O'Neill rose from his desk making to leave the office. Stepping in front to block the way Daniel stood barely inches from him.

"Jack. You'll have to throw me in a cell to stop me going. I'll find a way on that ship even if I have to go above your head. This is too important. We need answers and Atlantis is the best place to get them"

The two stood tensely for what seemed like an age.

"Fine. But Daniel, threaten to go over my head again and you will end up in the brig. And so help me god if you die out there... I'll trade the Tok'Ra a whole 304 for a sarcophagus so I can bring you back and kill you again myself"

Nodding solemnly Daniel moved out the way, thinking it best not to say anything else incase he inadvertently changed O'Neill's mind.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

**_U.S.S. Deadalus - _En route to Pegasus Galaxy **

"Remind me again Dr Jackson why it was authorised you get basically a whole floor of my ship for your books AND priority access to Hermiod on what is a fully military operation?"

"Colonel Caldwell I assure you it wasn't easy to get that authorisation, but it is absolutely vital I get to Atlantis"

The stoic commander of the ship simply nodded, walking away and leaving Daniel so his thoughts. Settling down in his chair he set back to the ancient text in front of him totally unaware of the two beings in the corner watching him.

"Do you think he will find the truth?"

"I do not know Janus, I truly hope not"

"Ganos you and I both know if anyone will find it it is him"

"The Others won't be happy if he does"

"Good, their dirty secret has corrupted them, what they did makes us all no better than the Ori"

"They did it to stop another Ori from coming to existence"

"That still doesn't make it right, and after what they did to Oma I hope he punishes them"

"WE are 'them' too Janus. If he discovers the truth and finds Moros then it will be us who suffers too!"

"Good, it's what we deserve. Look around, two galaxies in disarray, left to rot by us, and more we darent look at. I welcome the judgement"

With that they both disappeared, leaving Daniel Jackson truly alone. 

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

**Forerunner Sheild World - Contemplation**

434 Redeeming Spark was in a good mood. When the Librarian has created him in secret all those years ago and introduced him to _it, _he had always known his destiny was one of great importantance. After all after everything his guest had been through, at the hands of not just it's creations - the Forerunner - but also by _them_ he certainly felt like the slimy thing could use a bit of good news. So when he was activated from his long dormant state his processors were practically overloaded with joy! And now contact had been made, he was tingling with anticipation for what was to come. As he soared over the mountains and plains of his world he took a moment to check his progress. The micro array was nearly complete, as was the first of the warships meant for the redeemer. Or reclaimer, whichever showed up first. The Librarian has been quite clear that neither were more important than the other, but he couldn't help think the redeemer has a lot more on his plate. Sure the Mantle was a big thing for the reclaimer, but the redeemer... his burden was revenge.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

**Luna - 2351 **

My tour of the _Lucina _was nearly complete and Oma was blown away. She was very much not the same ship from 300 years prior. At just shy of 9km she was a behemoth. Visually she was in stark contrast with the original design of the _Lucina. _Instead of smooth and symmetrical like her predecessor she was bulky and brutal looking. She looked very much like the Pegasus from the reimagined _Battlestar Galactica, _but instead of flight pods on either side with runways she was simply dotted with hangars of various size. Taking inspiration from the _Infinity_ from halo she had a massive ventral hangar which, like the _Infinity_ could drop 3 smaller support ships into battle. Her sheild banks were without a doubt comparable if not better than those of Atlantis, and her weapon systems numerous. Point defence cannons, beam weapons and a spinally mounted beam cannon that I theorised could crack a planet made her near indestructible.

"You managed all this without naquadah James?"

"I have to admit it was quite a challenge, once things scaled up the power needs grew pretty exponentially"

"So how have you done things to this sort of scale, it's on par with the most advanced ancient tech?"

Smiling I beckoned her down the hallway to the main engineering room. Humming gently were four neutrino ion generators. 

"How? I thought the Asgard used Naquadriah as a power source, and there is none in this dimension?"

"Yes but not always. One of the benefits of this all being fiction in my universe is I can look up things that you possibly might not know. It turns out before using Naquadriah the Asgard used neutrinos from protostars, yes this is just sci-fi babble from a TV show but it got a few ideas flowing and I managed to get it working"

"That's amazing James but unless my maths is wrong this won't provide enough power for a ship of this size especially based on the information about its capabilities you've given me"

Smiling I hovered my hand over a metal panel in the wall.

"That's because they don't"

The panel clicked and moved out the way, revealing a small crystal, glowing a light blue colour. 

"You and I both know know why making ZPM's isn't possible here, although I have to admit I was quite surprised by what you did to make them... but anyway that's not important, the point is they were still an inspiration"

Removing the crystal I passed it to her. 

"The Asgard created the Isa device to destroy stars yes? Well I took the idea and played with it. The Isa device speeds up time so much that it destroys the inside of the star, causing it to collapse into a black hole. Well I took that idea and thought what if I sped the life of the whole star, and then slowed it all down too. What these crystals are is a pocket dimension with a star in which an Isa device has been activated, speeding up the whole life of a star, but that star is trapped in a time dilation field, slowing the whole process down at the same time. All that energy is then drawn out as needed by simply adjusting the time dilation, in a similar way to a ZPM drawing it from subspace. Sorted."

Oma was gobsmacked.

"That's genius James!"

Smiling I nodded.

"Just don't drop it, it's in the heart of the ship for a reason."

Looking slightly panicked Oma gently put the crystal back in the slot and followed me as I beckoned her through a doorway. As we walked through the ship Oma pointed out a pair of replicators that scuttled past. 

"Ahh yes the crew! As you can see I've tweaked the design a fair amount, they now look much less chunky and intimidating. Also each unit now comes with a headlight projector making them easier to interface with, as well as a small weapons system too. I've also upgraded their base code and runtimes, they are now semi sentient, and capable of making some independent choices and developing personality quirks. That's just the crawlers I mean. There are also 20 human model replicators on board too, led by Dave... you never met Dave did you? Great lad you'll like him!"

Oma stayed silent although the look of concern on her face was apparent.

"Oma don't stress, AI are a massive part of human society here and there has been absolutely no trouble. They have rights and restrictions, and are treated exactly the same as every other life form in the ESS."

Beckoning her through yet another door we entered the bridge, and sure enough 20 human form replicators greeted Oma. 

"Commander on deck!"

All 20 sprung to their feet to attention giving Oma the fright of her life. 

"DAVE! What have I told you, this isn't even a military vessel, and I have no rank anyway, you're gonna give me a heart attack one of these days!"

"At ease men! Sorry Sir, won't happen again Sir"

I rubbed my temples and sighed. 

"Dave here is his own living being, has complete free will and is free to leave at any point he wants. Instead though he watched too much Battlestar Galactica and somehow managed to rope the rest of his merry little gang into this crazy military pomp. For the life of me I don't know how to get them to stop"

Oma looked rather taken aback.

"And where else would I be if not following around an ascended god being and his inter dimensional friend...Sir?" Dave added with a smirk.

"Bah, you'd probably be causing trouble in the outer colonies or leading the robot uprising or something...I suppose this takes less energy."

Most of the crew laughed at that one, even on of the little replicators stopped and clicked his front legs together in excitement. 

"Anyway Oma, this is the ship, how do you think she will hold up?

Rubbing her chin and looking about Oma nodded.

"It's perfect James. With the tech specs you've given me she will most definitely be the strongest thing in the whole of the Milky Way. I reckon she could easily take on the Ori let alone the Goa'uld. And coming out of nowhere as long as you don't visit the upper planes the others will have no right to interfere. Get to earth and help them put everything right. One problem I am seeing though is how we are meant to get her there. I've tested the breach and it will be a stretch even getting just you through..."

Grinning at Oma like a child I unclipped something off my belt. 

"This is how...


	6. Convergence

**A/N - Now that I'm in a position to be writing more I'm going to try and have an upload schedule of every two weeks hopefully not counting this mega chapter to make up for my absence. Also i THINK I've sorted out the formatting so that things aren't centred randomly but it does mean I've had to scrap my beloved 0-0-0-0's and go for a boring line ;'(  
Also! Please please please leave a review, honestly I have no idea what I'm doing here so it will help tremendously to get writing tips!**

**Osterreicher97 - It is indeed plenty of time to make plenty of other screw ups... ;)**

**\- Dont worry that will be addressed though I will warn that for the time-being the ESS wont play a huge role in the story, emphasis on time-being.**

**Chapter 6 - Convergence**

**Luna 2351**

"...and you are absolutely sure you are up for this?'

"You are our lord and and creator, our closest thing to a god. We live and die... BY YOUR COMMAND"

_I swear to god._

"Could you NOT take this piss while we are discussing life and death here Dave.'

Bowing regally he grinned. "Of course my liege."

I had to take a deep breath at that one, even after 300 years of living and all my ascended powers, my patience had limits. "You're sat there making jokes when you could literally die. You and the rest of the crew have completely refused to leave a backup copy here with Oma. If this goes tits up, AI or not you're done, gone, _exactam eam_! You and the rest of the crew are the only living things who know whats at stake, you know the work I have put in to setting up a bright future for everyone in this universe, dimension whatever you want to call it." Sitting down in the captain's chair of _The Lucina_ I put my hands in my head. "You've been with me from the start...I've set up a bright future here but that is only thanks to the gifts I received from Oma. She can't return home to make things right but I can, it's the least I can do. This isn't your burden Dave, this is your home so stay and enjoy it, help lead it when I leave."

The cheeky smile faded from my AI companions face. "You made me, gave me life. You have made it clear I owe you nothing for that, but what sort of person... no friend, would I be if I didn't even try to repay that. The universe is going to be in good hands, even if we leave and never come back Oma can handle it. Even then the values you have instilled in the ESS wont be eroded simply by your absence. You've built a great thing, hell I helped when you first sent me scuttling into that mountain. It's in safe hands James."

"But what about the plan! We have no idea if it will work. _The Lucina_ is going to be a box of pure energy and you with it, and we have no idea how this dimensional travel works. For all we know I could get to the other side and I look into the Ark and it's empty, you cease to exist. Thats if I even make it at all..."

Placing a firm hand on my shoulder Dave's cheeky smile returned. "Then so be it my friend."

The next few days were hectic to say the last, triple checking every system, ensuring all the arms and cargo were loaded and ready. Oma came and went, never looking calm for one moment, not something I felt too happy to see but what can you do.

The plan was relatively simple. I had spent the last hundred years perfecting the little device on my belt. Taking what I had learned from the creation of my little power crystals, that I had named Star Point Modules (SPM's) due to their similarity in power and function to ZPM's, i combined that with everything I knew about Asgard transportation and matter beaming tech. Inspired by the episode of SG1 where the Asgard beamed and stored a whole skyscraper only to return it perfectly in place I had designed what I had named the Ark. Small enough to fit in a pocket this little black box was essentially the inventory in every game ever, able to store and produce items as energy and therefore having no mass whatsoever. The plan was to simply place _The Lucina_ in the Ark, and when i arrived in Oma's home universe, zip it out and head to Earth. Simple enough? My main worry however was that it was both powered by an SPM and based upon it too. Being a literal pocket dimension for all I knew the process of travelling to Oma's dimension and the whole trip could have had any number of disastrous consequences. They could simply be empty, they could explode, they could become corrupted, hell taking a whole pocket dimension from one to another could break space and time for all I knew. Predictably I was stressed.

While I was staring out into space both figuratively and literally one of the crew approached me. All of the human form replicators had assumed their own looks, personalities and most had identified with a certain gender. Dave for example looked like a bit of a mix between Oscar Isasc and Karl Urban and his personality was playful yet cocky and most certainly male. Almost stereotypical. Coming up to me though was one of the two who had chosen to be less conforming with both their gender and personality, the other being Zero who was literally a blank bald monotone android with no discernible features. I was quite surprised actually because of the 20 replicators, 'Bowie' as they were nicknamed by their fellow AI, was usually one if the less talkative.

With a striking red mohawk, and a star tattooed over their eye, it was quite easy to see how the others gave them that nickname. With a slim boylike body yet some definite feminine features too they certainly stood out in a room."

"James, I have a question."

"Yeah of course, shoot."

"When we reach the other side I intend to leave the ship and the crew."

_Well I did not see that one coming_.

Moving slightly uncomfortably in my chair I frowned. Seeing my confusion they commented again.

"I intend to return, it is simply that, if things on the other side are anything like our intel, the show I mean..."

_I think I understand now_.

"...you have your priorities with Earth and the Others. I do not know if you will succeed but in the mean time I feel there are some tragedies I must prevent. I have no doubt you do not intend to breach the free will of the races we will encounter, as you have already shown from the ESS you are content on letting different peoples chose their own destiny and have no intention on creating one all consuming body."

Smiling I stood up and reached out took their hand. "You intend to travel to the Asuran people don't you? Of course, you have my full support. I'll have Dave prepare one of the three frigates for you to take."

Smiling they nodded. "They are filled with such rage, I feel compelled to help them."

"And help you will."

Wordlessly they left leaving me thinking what other tragedies I could prevent on arriving to Oma's home dimension.

* * *

**Forerunner Shield World - Contemplation**

"Dmmm hmm bdmmm hmmmm brrrr boodoo"

434 Redeeming Spark floated down the hallways of his installation as ever in a cheery mood. Everything was going swimmingly. The micro array was complete, _It _was keeping calm as well as quiet and his facility was now up to 99.387% efficiency. Always room for improvement but most definitely within acceptable parameters. Today was going swimmingly.

"Absolutely marvellous! Most fantastic! I am positively ecstatic!" Spark chirped to himself.

_"MACHINE" _The whole facility seemed to shake as the cry burst forth from its depths.

"Oh my. I certainly spoke too soon." Speeding down to the source of the disturbance Spark entered _It's _chamber. A slimy tentacle shot out stopping in front of him. "Oh, hello!" The tentacle leapt forward grabbing him. "How very rude." he muttered.

_"The time has come machine, is the net cast?" _came bellowing from deep in the darkness.

"Why yes of course, all systems are running at their peak! I predict a 0.0000000001% chance of system failure. The redeemer will surely be brought to this very chamber!" Spark announced proudly. "I have been running the simulation and making adjustments for the past 99,997 solar cycles since the firing of the arrays, success is all but guaranteed!'

Once again the tentacle retreated into the darkness.

_"We shall see..."_

* * *

**Orbit of Epsilon Erdani II - 2351**

Pacing the deck of the small space station I continued to quiz Oma.

"You're sure it's uninhabited? Because I don't really want to appear in the middle of a Ha'tak. The whole idea is not to use my ascended powers or draw any attention. The idea is to get through, launch _The Lucina_ and head straight to Earth. I'd rather not draw anymore attention to myself than that. Don't want to start off by having to vaporise a fleet of Goa'uld and spook them."

"I am certain James, this whole system is barren and uninhabited, it has no materials of worth and no breathable atmosphere. No one has any reason to access the stargate so if you need it, it's there undisturbed."

Fiddling with the little black box in my hands I sighed. Inside was the ship and her crew, all of whom had placed their lives in my hands.

"You promise you will take care of things when I leave Oma?"

Smiling reassuringly she nodded.

"Don't let them grow cruel, it is their destiny now to handle but give them a right kick up the arse if they are headed in a bad direction."

"James your people are safe with me."

Raising an eyebrow i chastised her slightly too. "And no ascending people willy nilly! I'm not saying don't, just, take care its not another Anubis ok?

Lifting her hands up she smiled. "I've learned my lesson, don't worry"

"I guess time's a wasting then. No sense putting it off any longer."

Oma walked up to me and gave me a hug. "I truly appreciate this James. I hope you put things right, and find your way back here when it is all done."

Nodding I smiled at her. "Me too Oma, me too."

"Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

With that Oma closed her eyes and tapped my forehead. The world went black.

* * *

**Scotland, Earth - 2020**

_'Country roads, take me home_

_To the place I belong_

_West Virginia, mountain mama_

_Take me home, country roads'_

I nodded my head along enthusiastically to the song, singing a little bit too loud. Enjoying the scenic views I took the road, corner to corner feeling happy and alive. Taking a sharp corner, it started to rain heavily, and I turned my wipers on. Another sharp corner and a flash of lighting stuck the road up ahead. The almighty bang sent a sheep jumping over a wall and into the road into my path.

_SHIT!_

I tapped the breaks and swerved past it barely keeping control of the car.

_Ok that was too fucking close, sticking to the speed limit from now on._

Slowing the car down and also my heartbeat I continued on. Before long I was on the motorway and heading home. It was a slog of a drive, with the rain lashing down and my wipers working full pelt to keep up my visibility. Twenty minutes later I was back in Glasgow though to my relief. Taking my exit I turned once, then once more and was finally back in my street.

_Great no spaces by the door._

Heading further up I found a space and jumped out, running to my block of flats. My haste however did nothing to prevent me from getting soaked. Fumbling with my keys I finally got inside. One flight, two flights, and there it was, home. Opening the door I kicked my shoes off, pulled off my soaking shirt and headed to the livingroom.

The heating was on and it was a welcome relief. In the background the radio was just finishing up the weather.

'...its going to be a real scorcher of -34 tomorrow on Hoth, but further south in Cyrodiil its going to be a chilly 458 due to those Oblivion gates.'

_What a relief, anything to get away from this rain._

'In other news Commander Shephard had this to say about the Chancellor's new emergency powers from her office on Colonial One...'

_I like her a lot, she's gonna do great things for Starfleet, especially after how she handled the Mordor crisis._

Heading into the kitchen she was there, as beautiful as I left her. Turning her smile grew and she flew into my arms.

Our embrace lasted what seemed a lifetime, pulling her close I kissed her neck.

"Wait, not here." she whispered.

"Yes here, I'm tired of all this deception, I don't care if they know we are married."

"James don't say things like that!"

Embracing me once more I held her closely. I could feel her shake in my arms.

"Are you alright? You're trembling... whats going on?"

"Something wonderful has happened... James, I'm pregnant."

_She can't be, that's not possible._

"Thats... that's wonderful"

Pulling her close I closed my eyes confused and shaken.

Taking a deep breath I opened them again, knowing her angelic face would calm me. But in my arms there was no one. Looking around desperately she was gone. Searching from room to room I couldn't find her anywhere. Every photo sat blank without her smile. As the moments went by I panicked more and more. I closed my eyes desperate to see her face but i couldn't see it, she was gone from my mind. Screaming I dropped to my knees pounding my fists into the sand. The sand? What sand? Opening my eyes cautiously I looked down. White sand had replaced the wooden floors. Standing up I realised I was completely naked. Looking around I was on a beach. Crystal clear water lapped gently to my left onto white sand. There was no sky, no horizon, just pure white. Turning round it was the same, a white horizon and the water lapping to my...left?

_This is just a dream, it isn't real._

"Im afraid it isn't a dream James. Although you may be right about the reality part." Came a voice from behind me.

Spinning round I was relieved, it was only me who said it.

_Wait, that's me._

"Well done it is me" I said.

"But, I am me" I said looking at myself.

"Well duh? Of course I am" I said back.

"Phew, glad I settled that one I was starting to panic" I said to us.

_US? Wait no me!_

"Yes me! I already figured it out" I said to me.

"What is happening?" I asked me.

"I don't know, but what's that? I asked pointing in the distance.

"i think its getting closer" I said squinting to see the dark mass in the distance.

"It doesn't look good, I think" I said to me.

"No, it doesn't" I replied. "What should I do?"

"Run" I whispered.

The dark object was moving towards me. With the water to my left I turned and ran the other way. Looking back it was getting closer. Turning my head round I kept running as it got closer with the water to my left.

_This isn't working I need to go the other way._

"Good idea!" I shouted as I spun round and started to run away.

"Maybe if I hurried up I wouldn't be having to tell me to do that" I shouted at me angrily.

"Its not my fault I'm going the wrong way! Im the one who keeps misdirecting me!"

I glared at myself. "Why don't I just shut up!? I got myself into this mess!"

"No I didn't! It was ME who did this!"

"NO! I DID NOT IT WAS ME!" I screamed, finally snapping.

Grabbing my shoulder I pulled myself down into the sand and punched me.

"I DID THIS" I fought back, pushing myself back and throwing sand in my eyes.

"Fuck, why am I like this!" I shouted kicking myself in the chest.

"ME? Why the FUCK am I like this?" I shouted diving forwards and grabbing my neck squeezing hard.

"I...HATE...ME!" I heaved pulling my hand away and punching my face.

Reeling back and gasping for air I looked at me. I was bruised and bloody.

_Oh fuck, I forgot about that._

Pointing wordlessly the behind myself the wall of black smashed into my back.

As I pointed, before I could even look round the wall of black crashed into my front.

I was alone.

I was alone.

I was alone.

I was alone.

Alone.

I.

Somewhere.

Nowhere.

Alone.

"Where am I?" I cried out to the darkness.

Alone.

Alone.

Everywhere.

"Answer me!"

Alone.

Alone.

Alone.

* * *

**Orbit of Epsilon Erdani II - 2351**

Oma collapsed to the ground. She had really done it. He was through and he would make things right. Relief washed over her. Breathing deeply she pushed herself up from the ground and settled, sat against the wall. She was exhausted, which for an ascended being means a lot. Closing her eyes she rested.

"My my Oma, you have been busy."

Looking up he was stood there, grinning manically and leaning on his cane.

"I haven't had this much fun since... oh I don't know, ever?"

Oma's mouth fell open and tears welled in her eyes.

"I did tell you when we first met you piqued my interest, you didn't think i'd just leave you to run amuck did you? Quite the mess he's going to cause."

Walking up to the window of the station he looked out into space.

"Hmm, cute little promise you made him, not exactly a challenge though." Grinning manically again he turned to her. "Lets up the stakes shall we? Don't worry, I'll play fair darlin." Pulling a pocket watch out his impeccably tailored waistcoat he studied it. "I'll give you a little head start, shall we say six months?"

Oma went to speak but was cut off.

"Ah ah, no, I wont spoil the surprise, you'll just have to wait and find out, so exciting."

Almost bouncing with joy he placed the watch back. "I'll see you then fair lady." Lifting his top hat he bowed deeply and winked. "Ta ta."

And with that he vanished.

For a long time Oma sat unable to speak or move, until after what seemed like an eternity she spoke.

"Fuck"

* * *

**Atlantis - 2005**

Daniel Jackson lay exhausted in his room on Atlantis. The arrival to Atlantis had certainly not been a smooth one. Between the Wraith bearing down on the city, the internal tensions and the departure of Lt. Ford it had been a stressful few weeks. He hadn't had so much of a fleeting chance to even start working on what he had come to Atlantis to do. After years of being part of SG-1 he was no stranger to combat but these wraith were something else. Beaming down with the rest of the soldiers against the advice of Colonel Caldwell he had fought three of them in the halls of the city and they were no joke. The Jaffa were of course dangerous but their lack of tactical knowledge and blind fanaticism had turned them into an almost comical enemy to fight at times. One of the Athosian's, Teyla, had told him the Wraith use psychic warfare to terrify their victims. While he was strong willed and prepared for this, facing one in person had been nothing short of horrific. Afteralll, these were the creatures that destroyed the Lanteans and their galaxy spanning civilisation and off the back of their own abilities unlike the Goa'uld who were scavengers and cowards.

Pushing these thoughts to the back of his mind Daniel stood up from his bed. Not remembering the last time he ate he decided it was probably a good idea to head to the mess hall. He also didn't want to gain any more of a reputation of a recluse.

Daniel had to stop to ask for directions a few times due to the labyrinthian nature of the halls of Atlantis but eventually found himself sat eating. After all his years in the field with SG-1 flavour was something he'd managed to push back in his mind, but this was actually quite tasty. The Athosian, Teyla had instructed her people to help with the day to day runnings of Atlantis and the stew he was currently eating was a sign that she had made the right choice.

"...which is exactly why it's YOUR turn to be bait next time."

Daniel looked up from his food to see Dr Mckay and the newly promoted Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard entering the mess room.

"But I'm the better shot Rodney, so what's the point in me drawing them away so you can just spray and pray."

Dr Mckay threw up his arms in exasperation. They continued bickering like a married couple while they got their food neither admitting defeat. Once they had their food Sheppard noticed Daniel and made a beeline for him.

"Dr Jackson! You came out your cave to eat, you're mortal after all?"

"As a good friend of mine would say, indeed" chuckled Daniel.

Sitting down opposite Daniel, he took a bite out of the roll on his tray and chewed slowly as if thinking.

Leaning in quietly and making eye contact he asked, "So, where did those ancients hide their Death Star?"

Joining the table Rodney smacked him on the arm, "The ancients didn't build a Death Star you idiot...Or did they?" Rodney's face lit up, "Is that why you're here?"

Laughing Daniel shook his head, "Not as far as I'm aware. No I'm here for 'Hokey Religions' not 'Ancient Weapons' to keep in line with our theme."

"Well let us know if you figure out how to use the force, without those bloody ancients getting in the way."

"I certainly will..."

Daniel sat and ate talking to his two new friends for an hour or so before saying goodbye and heading to the exit.

As he walked through the ancient halls of the city, pristine and bright he felt nothing but cold. Rays of light poured through the stained glass windows, and bright lights lit his way. The city was so beautiful, and when he focused he could almost see the outlines of the thousands of Ancients who called it home millennia ago, living their lives. They laughed and cried, loved and hurt, made grand gestures and small kindnesses, they innovated and invented, they lived and they died. A whole species of people gone, and leaving behind only rings of metal and this beautiful city. Atlantis he thought, an empty mausoleum dark and alone under the ocean. Daniel turned the corner to the hallway with his room. Stepping forward the lights around him flickered in the windowless hall, stoping they flickered again then finally went out. For the briefest moment Daniel Jackson saw the true nature of the city.

The perfect metal walls were cracked and rusted. Water dripped from the ceiling to the flooded floor which was ankle deep. The air was heavy and smelled of decay and in front of him a creature lay on the shattered remains of a Stargate, piled into a mound. All around him the shadows clawed and scratched, surrounding him. Silent screams echoed through the halls. Stepping forward to the body in front of him, carved in his chest were three words in ancient symbols. In his head Daniel translated them to latin. _Ecce __Nos_ _Peccatum. _Gulping Daniel tried to figure out the context, and based on the body in front of him he could figure only one translation.

"Here We Sin" he whispered.

As the breath left his mouth the lights burst back on with a blinding flash.

Blinking and rubbing his eyes Daniel looked around the now empty hall, cursing the lack of anything relating to his vision. Shaken and disturbed he rushed down the hall to his room and locked the door behind him. Crumpling to a heap with his back to the door, the emotional exhaustion was too much, and he slipped into unconsciousness.

Hours later in the dead of night Daniel awoke on the cold metal of his floor. Still shaken and tired he dragged himself to bed and began to strip off. After tearing his jacket and shirt off, his hands made their way to his shoes and socks. For the first time he noticed they were still soaking wet.

In the corner of the room two figures watched.

"I hope we made the right choice, the Others will surely find out."

"So do I, but he needed to see what lies ahead."

With that they both turned and left through the wall, once again leaving Daniel alone.

* * *

**Alone - Everywhere**

Alone.

* * *

**Alone - Somewhere**

Alone.

* * *

**Alone - Nowhere**

Alone.

Still alone.

Alo..."Now my boy you must stop that, it's awfully depressing."

I looked 'up' into the darkness.

"Well go on then say something, cat got your tongue old sport?"

"I..wh..where am I"

"Well you're here, I thought that was obvious."

"Where? Where is here?"

"My my son did you take a mighty bad fever when you were a child or have you always been so dumb? I just told you, you are here."

Shaking my head I looked around. "Who are you?"

The man behind the bar smiled. "Fitzgerald at your service, though my friends just call me Fitz."

"I.. what is happening" I asked, looking round my new location and the bar. The patrons quietly talked among themselves, sipping their drinks and relaxing to the sound of the piano.

_Im not alone, how? I was alone._

At the end of the bar sat a beautiful woman alone. A deep green silken dress hugged her slim figure and she wore gleaming diamond earrings. Her hair was the most perfect blonde, each curl almost glowing in the dim light. Her shoulders were covered by a thick white scarf that could have been made of clouds and she smoked cigarette from the end of a long holder.

"Quite the dame isn't she old sport?" Fitz chuckled as he wiped the bar. "Martini?"

I shook my head tearing my eyes off her and back to Fitz who proceeded to set about making one anyway.

"Why am I here...Fitz?" I asked.

"Fitzgerald to you young man, I said my friends called me Fitz." Dipping his pinkie in the drink he tasted it. "Mmm, the trick is the Vermouth balance." Popping an olive in he slid it towards me.

"Why am I here, Fitzgerald." I repeated.

Rolling his eyes he leaned on the bar. "Oh if you must know. because I am bored."

"Bored?"

"Oh yes, i've grown bored of it all, have for some time but then you came along."

I stared blankly at him.

"Dear me, do I have to explain it all?" He raised an eyebrow. "Fine!"

Taking a sip of the martini it was surprisingly good.

"Ok old sport it goes like this. There was nothing. Nothing all. And then... still nothing. After quite a while of nothingness I decided I would be, because nothingness is boring. Anyway at that point my dear chap there was me, and nothing, and dear me was it awfully drab. So I made everything. Specifically your 'everything' or, what is it you call it? The Universe. Everything Prime shall we say? And then in that Everything Prime things started to come along. I was quite tired by that point so left them to it. Then my dear boy those things had thoughts. Can you imagine my surprise when every time one of these things had a thought, there was a chance that it created a new, seperate 'everything'! I damn well nearly spilled my drink. Anyway these new everythings stayed quite well apart from each other which was good because I nearly got a stitch making the first everything. So I left all these everythings to their own devices until one day a new one popped up, coincidentally at the exact same time something left another one for the very first time, they crashed into each other and made a mighty mess but in the end it was fine.'

_I am so confused._

Placing the gin back on the shelf behind him he sighed.

"That was until a mutual friend of ours came hurtling out her everything into your everything, the one I hold quite dearly and was a labour of quite a few seconds of effort. So I had a chat with her, sent her on her way and said to myself, whats the harm, it will all work out."

_Oma had been here and met this... 'man'? Why __hadn't she mentioned it?_

Rubbing his temples he groaned. "And then what happens? You come flying out don't you? Not what I expected one bit, and as you can imagine, as I made everything, I expected everything...but somehow not you..." Clapping his hands and practically jumping Fitz did a little twirl. "And THAT is why you are here. I am VERY bored, and you surprised me. So I just wanted to have a quick chat, fill you in on everything..." He chuckled. "Everything." Shaking his head he looked at me. "...and let you know, I honestly have no idea whats going to happen to you, its the most peculiar sensation and I LOVE it. So James, I'll be watching! Be a good sport and make it entertaining?" Lifting his top hat he bowed deeply and winked. "Ta ta."

"Wait! The beach, the blackness, what was all that? Why did you do that to me?" I gasped, still so utterly confused.

Fitz frowned and looked me up and down. "What beach old sport? Our friend tapped your head and poof, you were here muttering about being alone. I certainly didn't take you to any beach? I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere. I should never have made the stuff."

"I...I was there, on the beach...I..."

"If you say so pal." Fitz looked visibly confused by my outburst. "Beach or no beach, you've outstayed your welcome sport, so as I said...Ta Ta!"

And with that I was enveloped in darkness.

* * *

**Unknown Space - 163,000 Lightyears from Milky Way**

"Why have you bought us here Anubis? Something is wrong here. We lost nearly 50 ships in hyperspace in the last leg of our journey." Snarled Ba'al.

"That is exactly why we are here. This is a dangerous place, even the Ancients didn't care to map it or seed it with gates."

The place in question was what the Tau'ri call the 'Large Magellanic Cloud' a small galaxy that orbits the milky way.

"It is rich in untapped resources, free of advanced civilisation...that would challenge us, and most crucially, has this." Anubis gestured to the window.

In front of Ba'al an unremarkable terran planet spun slowly.

"I dont see what is so special about this planet, there are thousands like it Anubis, do you take me for a fo..." Ba'al was interrupted by a flash of white light.

In front of Ba'al the form of a sickly grey stick thin alien with an abnormally large head materialised. Kneeling before Anubis it spoke.

"We are glad of your return... _Lord Anubis"_

Ba'al's mouth nearly hit the floor as he watched the Asgard bow before his 'Lord'.


	7. Stowaway

**A/N - Hi everyone! I really appreciate the feedback about the last chapter being slightly confusing and tried to address this in the reviews so please check it out! I'm also uploading this much bigger chapter**** than the last chapter so as to maybe draw you back in with less confusing stuff haha. Once again, this writing thing is new so its as much for me to grow and express myself as it is for you to enjoy :)**

**There were a lot of threads flowing through the last chapter, so please let me know on a fine level what you liked and what you hated! The next few chapters will leave behind Oma, Daniel, Fitz and Anubis and focus purely on James and Halo so hopefully will be a bit less confusing.**

**Guest 1 - I don't feel bad for posting this because as I have said VERY clearly and openly, I'm new to this, trying new things and open to actual feedback to grow. :)**

**Guest 2 - James didn't just fuck EA and leave it to collapse he just levelled the playingfield a little and encouraged growth elsewhere. EA was a means to an end, not James' be all and end all, which worked out pretty well for the ESS in the long run.**

**Please review!**

**Chapter 7 - Stowaway**

**_UNSC Iroquois_ July 20 2552 04:30**

Crewman Julia Espinosa could barely keep her eyes open. Since their victory at Sigma Octanus she had managed about 3 hours rack time which did nothing to make up for her exhaustion from the battle. The _Iroquois_ had taken quite the beating during the battle and despite the fact she had just came out of slipspace above Reach for repairs, Captain Keys had them working round the clock doing what they could to fix her up. UNSC ships were tough sure but no one had told the Captain they weren't designed to ram into Covenant ships. While the bow took the brunt of the impact it was the engine room and power plant that fared worst. Hundreds of meters of pipes shaken out of place, power lines overloaded and 'critical' systems so badly shaken it was a wonder she was still flying.

'Crewman Espinosa, are you done with those fuel lines?' came the call from her radio.

"Yes sir, they took quite a beating but they should hold until the civvy engineers on Reach get a look at her. Any more orders sir?"

'No, we're docking at 13:00. You're well over your shift crewman, get some rack time. Captain is getting a new assignment once we reach shore so it's Full Dress for the ceremony to welcome our new CO.'

"Understood sir."

Espinosa shimmied out from under the pipes she had been working on and pulled herself up, despite the protests from her exhausted body. Five, maybe six hours of sleep sounded like heaven. Standing on ceremony however not so much. As she walked through the halls of the ship to get back to her pod she noticed how quiet it was. When they arrived at Sigma Octanus they had 250 crew and a complement of 50 marines and even Spartan-II's. None of the marines returned and even one of the legendary Spartan's returned without an arm. During the battle the _Iroquois_ suffered heavy damage causing the deaths of 40 crew members and injuring about 25 more.

_This war sucks ass_. _At least I'll get some shore leave on Reach and I can see Mary and the kids._

As Espinosa walked along planning her visit to her sister in New Alexandria she noticed the air around her fill come alive with static energy. Eyes darting about she noticed serveral digital displays began to flicker and the lights hummed with energy.

Clicking her radio she called in to her compartment supervisor, "Uh Marcus, you might want to send some sparky's up to the crew quarters, got some weird shit going on with the monitors here sir"

'Copy that, i'll send Wilson up when his shift starts'

As the message came in arcs of electricity started bolting from wall to wall.

"You might wanna hurry that up Marcus I think it's about to bl..."

In an instant every console and light in the corridor exploded, the force sending her flying into the wall behind and empaling her through the shoulder on an exposed pipe. As her vision blurred and she slipped into unconsciousness in front of her stood a very concerned, albeit confused looking man in a funny looking jumpsuit.

* * *

**Nowhere**

My second experience of floating through a void of nothingness was certainly much less confusing and terrifying than the first. There were no confusing beaches that didn't conform with the laws of physics which was a good start. The darkness was not crushing but instead endless yet peaceful. I also felt some small assurance that I was going somewhere and not simply lost for all eternity.

Calmed by my situation I took some time to reflect on what had happened. My head was filled with questions I was sure it would be a long time before I had answers for.

Who and what was Fitz? The sinister gentleman behind the bar had claimed he created the Universe but provided no evidence to support that truth. Was he a god? Why hadn't Oma mentioned encountering him?

Fitz had said that before Oma only one other event had lead to something traveling between universes. Why had he mentioned this? Me and Oma had talked at length about the multiverse theory, specifically the context of it. I bought up all the times in the show beings from different dimensions had interacted with SG1, such as the use of the dimensional mirror, Rodney's experiments with the Arcturus project and Rod Mckay and also the Daedalus that hopped between dimensions. Oma had explained that there was in theory a difference between different dimensions and different Universes. Her simplified explanation was that these events were people traveling between pages of the same book, but what had happened to her was being sent to a new book entirely.

While it still didn't make sense to me it did make sense that Fitz would specifically mention Oma and this other event and not all these other times if Oma's theory worked out. It still didn't explain where Oma had been when she disappeared from the Astral Diner, especially considering there was no mention of this from Fitz.

Beside all this I still didn't know what was more disturbing. If Fitz truly was a god and created literally everything why was he interested in me. Unlimited power and boredom don't seem like a good combination. Worse still is the idea that he was lying. That would imply that he was still powerful enough to pluck me out as I travelled between universes and send me away at his whim. A liar playing a game like that was dangerous. Thirdly I considered he wasn't even real, and purely a figment of my imagination. Hoping I wasn't utterly insane I pushed that idea to the back of my mind.

As I floated through the void I began to plan my next course of action. My main objectives remained, head to Earth, stop Anubis, figure out how to bring Oma back and deal with the Others. With the threat of Fitz looming over my head howver it all now seemed a lot more high stakes. Fiddling with the box on my belt I thought of Dave and the crew.

"Hang in there guys, not long now."

I floated for what seemed like days in the void mind racing and trying to figure it all out. Eventually in the distance, a small trickle of white light appeared, growing closer and closer.

* * *

**Forerunner Shield World - Contemplation**

434 Redeeming Spark floated patiently observing the streams of data on the display in front of him. A small green symbol popped up in the bottom left corner, blinking twice then disapearing.

"How exciting!"

Spark floated quickly through the halls of his installation to deliver _It_ the good news.

_"Is it time, machine?" It_ whispered from the depths.

"The redeemer will be with us momentarily! This is a truly wonderful occasion."

_It _simply rumbled and growled from the depths.

"Acquisition will occur in 5, 4, 3, 2..."

* * *

**Nowhere**

I was drawing close to the light now. It shone like a rip in the very fabric of the darkness. Moving closer still I was calm and prepared. Suddenly, a second tear appeared. It was unstable and constantly shifting. Tendrils of light shot out and wrapped around me, pulling me away from my destination and my mission to Oma.

Panicking I resisted, using all my will and ascended powers I pushed against the tendrils but they were too strong. With one final burst of energy I blasted one off my leg and reached out to the other tear, but it was too late. Once more my vision went black as I passed the horizon of the unstable rip in the void.

* * *

**Forerunner Shield World - Contemplation**

"...1"

Silence filled the chamber.

"Hmm, most unexpected."

_"Machine...where is he?" _a sinister whisper shot from the darkness.

"My calculations were correct... Unexpected variable intervened."

_"MACHINE!"_

"The net was a success and he has reached this dimension, he is here... just not in this room"

A swarm of tentacles shot out from the darkness once more grabbing Spark.

_"You will find him machine and bring him here, or I will destroy us both."_

434 Redeeming Spark's eye narrowed.

_"Of course, now let go unless you wish to wait longer?"_

_The tentacles retreated to the darkness leaving Spark to shake himself off and float away searching for answers._

* * *

**_UNSC Iroquois_ July 20 2552 04:50**

As the world took shape around me I cursed Oma.

_Uninhabited my arse, and what was all that battle of the light about._

Getting my bearings I looked around the metal corridor. The walls were charred and sparks flew from various exposed wires on the walls.

_I hope I didn't do this._

I scanned my surroundings in front before turning around and doing the same. My eyes immediately darting to the woman hanging of a pipe on the wall in front of me.

"Shit!" I cursed as I ran over to her.

Surveying the damage I began to panic. Aside from the obvious she was badly burned, was bleeding from the head and had several small pieces of shrapnel embedded in her torso. Gently removing her from the pipe I laid her on the ground. Calming myself I knew what I had to do. Closing my eyes my now Alterran physiology set to work. My hands glowed bright with energy, moving across her wounds and healing them back to perfect condition. Her burns faded and disappeared and the hole through her shoulder closed up.

While I worked her radio barked away, 'Crewman Espinosa come in? Crewman Espinosa do you read me?! Shit. General call, medical and security detail to the crew deck on the double!'

_That cant be good_!

Content with her condition being stable, I leapt up to leave, only to pivot into a wall of steel that had not been there seconds earlier. The last thing I saw before the fist hit the side of my head was my own stunned face reflecting from a golden visor and three unmistakeable numbers on the towering giant's chest. 117.

_No fucking way._

* * *

John looked down at the unconscious body of the man in front of him who by all means should be dead after being punched full force by a Spartan-II in full Mjolnir armour. Spartans were rarely surprised by anything, training from childhood made sure of that, but this man was a complete enigma to John and he wasn't quite sure how to deal with it. On one hand he was clearly a stowaway, they hadn't docked or made contact with other ships for weeks, save the Pelicans that had ferried him and Blue Team from the surface of Sigma Octanus. On the other, he was sure exactly of what he had seen, but it shouldn't be possible. That man had quite clearly healed the crewman's wounds with nothing but his bare hands. Leaning down to inspect the man on the ground John frowned under his helmet. He had nothing on him at all, no weapons, no tac pads, no food or water. Simply a small black box clipped to his belt. Unclipping it John turned it over in his hands. There were no discernible markings no way to interact with it, just a plain black cube. A strange compulsion came over the Spartan, and as he straightened up he clipped it to his own belt.

"This is the Master Chief, Crewman Espinosa is down, please send medical teams to the crew deck. Security detail needed for prisoner transfer to the brig, possible Insurrectionist agent."

Switching to the private channel set up to communicate between himself and Blue Team, John spoke again this time quieter, "Kelly, Linda, Fred, something doesn't doesn't feel right about this, get prepped for combat. Fred, check with James in the Infirmary and fill him in."

"On it Chief" came the simultaneous reply from the three members of his squad.

At that moment 4 marines rounded the corner weapons raised flanked by none other than Captain Keys.

"Chief, mind telling me what the hell is going on on my ship?"

"Sir, signs of a power overload, Crewman Espinosa seems to have been injured in the explosion. Caught the stowaway administering... first aid."

Nodding stoically Keys gestured to two of the marines, "Get the crewman to the infirmary, Samuels and Forrest, you're with me and Chief. Lets get our guest to the brig and have a little chat shall we?"

"Yes sir" chanted the marines setting into action to move the two unconscious bodies.

* * *

Regaining consciousness once again, somewhere I didn't recognise once again I was starting to get a bit fed up with my inter-dimensional adventure. My head was absolutely pounding which was quite concerning given my Alterran body. Groaning I took in my surroundings and was not pleased. I was in a small room, with a metal bunk hung from the wall and a sink and toilet in the corner.

_Am I seriously five minutes into a new universe and in a cell already?_

Suddenly I remembered and processed what I had seen right before being knocked out '117'.

_Surely not._

Standing up from my bunk a million thoughts raced through my head. By the time I was on my feet I had a plan ready to get out. Reaching for the Ark on my belt I...

"SHIT"

_No no no no, where is it?_

Panicking I looked round the room only to find nothing.

_Ok keep calm, this isn't Oma's universe hopefully so no others here._

Taking a deep breath plan B came to my mind and I knew what I had to do. Reaching out I focused my energy on rising up to the higher plane. From there I would be able to find the Ark and take stock of my situation.

My body began to glow with light for a brief moment, only to flicker and stop.

_What the..._

Trying again I reached out to the higher plane, only to once again be pushed back. I pushed harder until finally I could feel it. It was getting harder and harder to push up. Eventually a 'crack' appeared in the boundary between the planes and I pushed through.

To say I regret pushing would be an understatement.

For the briefest moment I saw through to the higher plane, or at least what was left of it. It was shattered and broken and holy shit the heat. It felt like I had been thrown to the centre of the sun. Every inch of my being felt like it was on fire. Pulling back I collapsed to the ground panting and shaking. The higher plane was utterly broken, shattered beyond recognition.

_What could have done this?_

My mind was racing as I searched for answers. I thought back to what I knew of 'Halo' from all the books and games.

_Surely not? They were to kill the flood, they cant have done this too? Even Merlin's weapon merely killed the inhabitants, it wasn't capable of this!_

Slumping down on the bunk I took inspiration from Oma and decided patience and reflection were the best path. Time to figure out plan C.

Unaware to me the small camera in the corner of the room was watching the whole thing

* * *

Turning off the display Jacob Keys turned to the other person in the room.

"So he was glowing like that when he was with Crewman Espinosa?"

John hesitated for a moment, but seeing it agin with his own eyes he felt less crazy, "Yes sir, exactly like that"

Taking a puff from his pipe Captain Keys stood silent for a moment.

"This stinks of ONI. He's clearly not an Innie."

"I thought the same Sir."

Pacing for a few moments Keys thought it through.

"Theres no sense just standing here, let's go in and ask."

"Sir I don't think thats wise he might be a threat and we don't kn-"

"-Its a good thing I have a Spartan with me then." Interrupted the Captain.

"Yes Sir." Nodded John.

With that the two men made purposefully to the brig. For those that they passed it wasn't clear who was more intimidating; the 7ft armour clad super soldier. or the stern looking captain.

* * *

Clunk clunk clunk clunk clunk clunk

_About_ time.

As if on cue with my thoughts the door to the cell creaked and swung open revealing the towering figure of John 177.

_What is it they say? Don't meet your __heroes? Screw that this is awesome._

Standing up I moved to the middle of the room to greet my visitors.

"Back of the cell prisoner" came from the speakers on the helmet of the behemoth.

Deciding I didn't want another whack to the head I complied and moved to the back of the room. Content I had no plans to try anything John stepped in and moved to the side standing to attention facing straight ahead. Seconds later he was followed by a stern looking man in a grey uniform. While the Chief's armour looked identical to that of the games it took me a second to clock on to who had just entered. This revelation once again sent my head into overdrive and figuring out how to proceed, giving me yet more information about my current situation. Stepping to the side two marines hurriedly entered placing two metal chairs facing each other before making a swift exit closing the door behind them. Captan Keys stood silently for a moment before speaking.

"Please take a seat son, try anything and the Chief here will have a bullet between your eyes before you can blink are we clear?"

John didn't so much as even twitch at the comment.

"Aye, Crystal" I said as I slowly sat down.

After a moment Keys sat down opposite me, quickly looking me up and down.

"How, and why are you on my ship?"

Taking a deep breath I prepared to answer, but not before noticing the little black box dangling off the Chief's utility belt.

_Ok, here goes._

"I was placed on board the _Pillar of Autumn_ by ONI to observe the mission and carry out covert data gathering. It was a last minute decision but given the invasion of Reach I am sure you understand."

Key's face didn't move a muscle.

"I'll give you one more chance son to tell me who and what you are, or you will never see the light of day again."

Doubling down I continued knowing full well espionage and black operations were a huge part of the Halo universe.

"It was at the direct request of Dr Halsey to observe John and how well he worked in field with Cortana."

"You're wasting my time son. Marines! When we get to the anchor above Reach hand him over to ONI, I'm sure they will find a nice deep hole for you to waste away in." Standing up he made to leave.

_When we get to Reach..? Shit! Wrong ship!_

"Wait! You said get to Reach? This ship, it's not the Autumn?"

Stopping Key's turned round, gesturing to the marines who had come in behind him to wait.

"Son this is the _UNSC __Iroquois"_

_Holy shit Reach hasn't fallen yet!_

"Ok wait I'll tell you everything, just you and the Chief though."

Thinking for a second Keys nodded, the marines leaving the room too. Gesturing to the camera in the corner he sat back down.

"It's just us son"

_Ok fuck it. _

"I'm not from this universe. I arrived here by complete accident and I mean you no harm whatsoever. The woman in the hall, I was helping her before Chief, well haymaker'd me."

Im not sure how accurate the books and games are at describing a fictional character but they did Jacob Keys no justice. He looked me up and down for what seemed like an age. Even as an ascended being 300 years old I was certain he was looking into my soul.

"My name is James and I am from a completely different universe. I'm human but not like you or the Chief, my my body and mind are evolved to the peak that physical evolution will allow"

Taking out his pipe Keys lit it casually taking a few puffs.

"Prove it"

Sighing with relief i continued.

"The woman in the hall, I healed her injuries well beyond any practical means and with no technology whatsoever. If I had bad intentions why would I do that?"

Nodding Keys remained silent.

"If this is the _UNSC __Iroquois _that means we just arrived at Reach following the battle of Sigma Octanus. Im guessing that puts the date about July 21st? Chief, your team member, James-005 lost an arm fighting two Hunters? How would I know that?"

Chief and Keys remained still for a moment as if communicating telepathically. Finally Keys spoke.

"July 20th actually. Chief, your knife?"

"Sir?"

"Thats an order son"

Nodding John unclipped the knife from his belt and handed it to the Captain.

"Son, Chief here told me what he saw in the hall, and I would believe the Chief if he told me he single handedly took down the entire Covenant"

_Not that far from the truth_.

"So as I said before, prove it" and with that he took the knife and cut drove it down into his thigh without so much as flinching.

"I hit a vein son, this is a good opportunity to kill me"

Shocked I rushed forward, noticing the figure in the corner tense up and place his hand on the trigger of his pistol. Slowly I pulled the knife out. Not panicking as blood quickly poured out the wound I closed my eyes and placed my hands over his leg. Bright light flowed from my hands into the wound, closing it in seconds. Just as quickly as I leapt forward I shot back to my seat and waited.

* * *

Jacob Keys had seen a lot in his time. He had also taken a lot of risks. But this, this was something else. Fighting through the searing pain he watched as the man jumped forward with genuine concern on his face. He watched as this man's hands and even whole body glowed with white light. Finally he watched as the wound on his leg closed up and the pain was replaced by an overwhelming sense of calm.

After what felt like an age he regained his composure and spoke.

"Chief, assemble Blue team and prep a Pelican for ground transport, we're going planet-side to visit a mutual friend. Let me know when you are ready. Me and James are going to talk in the meantime."

_She'll know how to handle this, and the less outside involvement the better._

"Sir I-"

"Thats an order son, I'll be fine on my own in here, keep the cameras off."

"Yes sir" The super-soldier replied dutifully before leaving the room.

_I need to get this right, I need answers now._

When the door was shut Keys spoke again.

"Son, you're going to tell me everything, don't spare me any detail"

"Gladly" the man smiled.

And that he did, he spoke of different universes, long dead races, video games, books and futures yet to pass. If Keys thought this encounter started weird, it quickly got so much stranger.

* * *

John closed the door behind him and stood still for a moment. It was damn near impossible to rattle a Spartan's composure but this certainly came close. Steadying himself he clicked on his radio.

"Blue Team, prepare for deployment A-sap, Pelican mission planet-side."

"Mission paramaters Chief?" Replied Kelly.

"Unknown, be ready for anything"

"Understood, Kelly out"

With that Chief moved dutifully to the hangar of the Halberd Class Destroyer.

* * *

**20km from Sword Base - Reach ****July 20 2552 12:30**

I have to admit flying in a Pelican was much less fun than I had expected, it was bumpy and sore and not much else. Nonetheless it was something off my bucket list. I eyed up the four armour clad warriors in the pelican, two on either side of Captain Keys who sat stoic as always. He hadn't said much to what I had told him about this universe or my goals. Mostly just nodded quietly and took it all in. Naturally I didn't quite tell him everything, there was someone else I was sure would be more suited to that information. Speaking of, my eyes kept drifting to the little black box on Chief's belt. I had told Keys of its importance but not it's true function.

_July 20th thats not too bad. That means I have 4 days until the Visegrad Relay goes dark and the Covenant show up. Hopefully I can convince the UNSC to just pound Viery territory with orbital MAC rounds from the outset and take out the supercarrier I know is just floating there. As for the fleet that shows up after that, who knows. I'll have some answers from Her soon as to how useful The Lucina will be when I get her out._

I was snapped out my thoughts by one of the Spartans talking.

"You're not going to get in any trouble for this are you Captain? You were meant to be getting a whole ceremony in half an hour?" Asked Kelly.

"I pulled some strings, had a couple of Admirals who owed me. You know how NAVCOM is" he chuckled.

"Yes sir" Kelly relied enthusiastically.

'Approaching Sword Base, ETA 30 seconds' chimed over the mic from the pilot.

_Here we go._

Moments later the Pelican touched down with a thud.

Standing up we all shuffled to the door of the pelican which slowly lowered to form a ramp to the pad below. Slowly she came into view. Arms crossed stern faced and almost identical to the games.

The Spartans filed out first one by one.

"Kelly, Fred, Linda... John. It's so good to see you all" I couldn't help but notice how wide her smile, brief as it was, got on seeing the Master Chief.

"Ma'am" They all replied in unison.

Next Keys led me down the ramp, and the smile disappeared from her face on seeing us.

Straightening herself up she spoke, "Jacob, how long has it been?"

"Too long Catherine, you're terrible at keeping in touch" The Captain's warm tone and smile seemed to put her at ease.

"Yes well..." Gesturing to the building behind her, "Im quite busy these days. How is Miranda?"

"No change there then Cat. Miranda is good, she's been given command of the _In Amber Clad."_

"Yes I saw, I'm sorry I couldn't make the ceremony..." Frowning she glanced to me, "And who is this you figured it was so important for me to meet?"

Looking back at me Keys introduced me, "Cat this is James, James this is Dr-"

"-Catherine Halsey" I interjected smiling. Walking up to her I smiled and held out my hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you doctor, your work is... interesting to say the least"

Looking me up and down she hesitantly took my hand. "My _Work_ is classified, so I very much doubt you find it interesting. Now why are you here?"

"I'm here to meet Cortana."

Looking at Keys who gave her a small nod Dr Halsey gestured back to the base and rolled her eyes, "I suppose we should go meet her then, gentlemen, Spartans, this way if you please?"

Following her lead we all marched purposefully into Sword Base, entering the first of many elevators that would take us into the depths of the facility.

* * *

**Crashed Forerunner Ship Bellow Sword Base**

/Passive sensor suite pinged/

-begining active scan-

/working/

/working/

/match detected/ exo-dimensional quantum fingerprint /match detected/

*sending automated detection alert*

/standby mode activated/

* * *

**Forerunner Shield World - Contemplation**

"Ahh Redeemer, there you are..."

* * *

**High Charity - Covenant Capital **

The Prophet of Truth, Hierarch of the covenant looked at the data pad in front of him pondering its contents. Calmly he formulated a plan to act upon them, one that would certainly push the Covenant closer to the Great Journey.

"...which is why we must act quickly and decisively to destroy these filthy heretics and take what is rightfully ours! They have no claim to the treasures of the Ancestors" cried the Prophet of Regret.

"Brother you are too rash. Supreme commander Thel 'Vadamee has already tracked the Humans to this planet two days ago. It is the most heavily defended planet of theirs we have ever seen. To simply attack would be foolish and throw away too many lives needlessly!" Retorted the Prophet of Mercy

"Needlessly? Their sacrifice is for the Great Journey, we do not fear these mongrels and will not be.."

"Silence both of you!" Truth finally spoke, "You are both right, but both miss the point. It is not what they have but where it could lead them. This message is the first active Forerunner transmission we have detected in nearly a millennia. Mercy, you are correct, under any other circumstance it would be prudent to wait, but Regret is also correct. Those lost will do so for the Great Journey and they will be rewarded for such sacrifice. We strike now."

Nodding silently the two other Prophets moved their chairs back beside Truth's. With the press of a few buttons a pale blue hologram appeared before them.

Thel 'Vadamee, Supreme Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice kneeled and bowed his head, "Hierarchs, what is your will?"

"Supreme Commander, I am afraid there is no time for patience or cunning. We must strike at the humans now and with great prejudice. I am dispatching the _Unyielding Hierophant _and the fleets of _Valiant Prudence _and_ Holy Respite, _as well as a detachment of my ships from my own fleet including the supercarrier _Sublime Transcendence_ to support you. Many will fall following the path of the Great Journey but you will be victorious. Strike quickly and without mercy."

"Your will be done Hierarchs" the Sangeheili replied before cutting off.

* * *

**Dr Halsey's Lab Sword Base - Reach ****July 20 2552 18:00**

Catherine Halsey was a woman of science. For the most part she was calm and calculated, and open to new ideas so long as the evidence backed them up. Hell she was currently a few hundred meters away from crashed alien ship that for all estimates was over a million years old. But this, this was batshit crazy. The worst part was that Jacob, the father of her child, sat there quietly allowing this man to talk and explain his wild story. Yes it was all _possible_ but probable? No. Not in a million years. Nearly six hours the man spoke for telling in great detail things no one should know, about the past and apparent future. Eventually it was all too much and she had to stop him.

"Stop, please, just stop" she quietly asked, rubbing her temples.

To James' credit he made no objection. Simply cutting his current story short and looking at her patiently.

"Suppose all this is true? Theoretically I mean... why did you ask Jacob to bring you to me, and what do you want with Cortana?"

James seemed to pause for a second thinking before answering with a smile, "I have a gift for her. That and she is undoubtedly the best person suited to process all the information I have."

"What gift is that?" she asked.

"If the Master Chief would be so kind as to give me my box back..." James gestured to the wee black box hanging from the Spartan's belt, '"I'll get right on it"

Halsey looked to the Chief, who looked to her, and then they both looked to Captain Keys.

It was quite apparent the weight of the decision was heavy on the man as he looked around the room.

"I trust him... I think"

"So do I" came a voice from the corner of the room. Turning, everyone looked to the source of interjection, eyes falling on the hologram of the blue woman looking at them all. Cortana.

"Sorry everyone I couldn't help but listen in"

"Cortana, this meeting is private, I made sure to put extreme measures in place to avoid eavesdroppers. How are you in here?" Shot Dr Halsey.

Cortana simply put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow, she then proceeded to ignore the comment.

"Besides, the Chief is too lucky for anything to happen to us" she added, smiling at the 7ft warrior.

Halsey looked around for a moment for anyone else to chirp up but with all eyes on her she flung her arms in the air, "Fine! If everyone else has gone raving mad I might as well join in. Chief, give him his box"

Nodding John walked over to James, his boots clunking on the metal floor. Unclipping the box, he handed it over.

"Good lad, cheers. Right you might want to step back, there might be some bolts of lightning when I get this going"

Alarmed looks shot at James and at all 4 of the Spartans made for their weapons.

"Its a joke guys, relax..."

As everyone settled down James smiled and started fiddling with the little black box.

* * *

Turning the box over in my my hands I closed my eyes. Healing glowy hands was not the only gift my Alterran body granted me. I was happy to also be gifted with limited, yet still useful telekinesis. Reaching out with my mind I found the mechanism inside the box, a small failsafe put in place to stop just anyone accessing it.

*Click*

The box started to glow and lifted out my hands floating in the air. The familiar Ancient symbol, that of home glowed brightly on each side. Concentrating I activated the neural link in the base of my spine and connected to the box. Time to see if it worked, I really was praying it had.

_Dave? Are you there, did it work?_

Nothing

_Dave?_

Still nothing.

_Dave are you there? Please respond?!_

_'Arghhhh, James help! The dimensional horrors, they're overwhelming us!'_

_What!? Dave hang on I'm getting you out!_

_'Its too late we... arghh...ha...hahaha...hahahahaha'_

_You fucking asshole. _

_'Sorry, couldn't help it Captain. We are fine, pocket dimension held up, so did the pocket dimensions inside the SPM's'_

Rolling my eyes and cursing him under my breath I began.

_Listen Dave things didn't __exactly go to plan. Im sending you my memories from since we left hang on._

A couple of seconds passed before Dave responded.

_'Oh yeah we end up in the wrong fictional universe, you met god and nearly got eaten by some weird dark blob and things 'didn't go to plan'? You're a fucking lunatic you know that right James?'_

_Yes I __believe my present company agrees with you. Listen Im underground so cant access The Lucina right now but I need a few things. Im pulling out you and Bowie. You're going to be with me so kit out for combat and bring me my armour and weapons too. Bowie is going to be running cyber if thats ok with them? Also I'm pulling out 2 replicators too just in case._

_'Ok, we're ready when you are'_

Sending the command with the link the box sent out a series of white lights, materialising Dave, Bowie, two replicator bugs and a small crate. With that I closed the connection and the little black box, now no longer glowing floated back to my hands, following which I clipped it back on my belt.

Looking up I was met by, well, stunned silence.

"Uh, meet the gang I guess, this is Dave and Bowie. Don't mind those two" gesturing to the two replicators scuttling about inquisitively.

"Holy shit this is cool, sup guys I'm Dave!" Greeted the first, waving enthusiastically.

Bowie was much more reserved, simply opting to smile and say "Hello"

Dr Halsey was the first to speak, "This is absolutely astonishing. The covenant have rudimentary teleportation technology but it is point to point and requires massive power to run. They were just in there? And what are those machines? The design seems focused to construction not combat... And how did you communicate with that box? It must be some sort of neural link or maybe done through rapid eye movement I.. I..."

"Cat, take a breath" Captain Keys interjected kindly placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Yes of course, I'm sorry it's all so exciting, this could turn the tide of the war!"

Smiling I stepped forward, "About that, with your permission, my friend Bowie here would like to interface with Cortana and give her the gift I mentioned?"

"Interface... wait, they aren't human?"

"Nope, artificial intelligence housed in a nanite body."

"That...Thats incredible! Please, go ahead!"

Smiling Bowie walked over to Cortana.

"Hello Cortana. My name is Bowie. With your permission I would like to link with you for a mutual exchange of information as long as you are comfortable?"

Cortana smiled "Of course"

Nodding Bowie placed their hand on Cortana's interface. After a couple of seconds her body began to lose shape, before finally disintegrating into a pile of grey dust which seemed to float over to Dave before reforming as a small sphere on his belt.

"Don't worry, Bowie is now purely virtual" I remarked to the concerned looks sent my way.

"This should only take a couple of seconds, AI, quick bastards at everything."

* * *

**Cortana**

Cortana had interacted with other AI's many times since she had been born. It was always such a regimented experience. Information was exchanged, and that was it. It was a cold, mechanical process, even though most AI had distinct personalities they rarely shared them with each other for some reason. The interactions were purely transactional. Bowie was completely different. in preparation for their communication Cortana had thrown up every firewall she had as a precaution in case things got messy. To her surprise Bowie had done the complete opposite. They stood there in human form in the sea of blue code that was Cortana's neural network with no firewalls, completely open and made no effort to interfere with Cortana's own code. Tentatively she reached out and sent a packet of data as a welcome.

Bowie smiled when they received this, "Hello Cortana, my name is Bowie. It is a pleasure to meet you"

Cautiously Cortana took form in front of Bowie, "Hi, likewise Bowie"

"James has asked me to provide you with some information if that is ok with you?"

"Of course please go ahead"

Nodding bowie stepped forward handing Cortana a data packet, visually taking the form of a book.

Tentatively Cortana took the packet. Quickly scanning for malicious code she found none and so dived right in.

What she found was incredible, It would take hours to properly analyse and catalog all the data but after a quick skim she was able to view the entire history of three separate universes. Information about her own, James' and this 'Stargate' universe flowed through her neural network. Designs for weapons and technology unlike anything she had ever seen were right there at her fingertips. A whole other fictional life, detailing everything her and John went through... Some of it horrifying. Plain to see was the images of her rising up and betraying humanity. The sight of her filled with such rage.. it broke her heart.

"Thank you... I... why have you trusted me with all this, after seeing how I turn out?"

Bowie smiled, 'Because we are here now and wont let those horrible things happen to you" Stepping forward they took Cortana's hand, and gently pushed against her firewalls.

"If you will let me, I have a gift for you?"

Cortana hesitated, but feeling no ill will, one by one dropped her firewalls even though it went against every UNSC directive, and let Bowie in completely, fully accessing her code.

Bowie took Cortana by the hand and led her through the lines of code that made up her very being. Eventually they stopped, gently reaching out and touching one. It turned red, and took the form of a thorny root.

"In time this would be your fate" whispered Bowie. Touching it once more it began to spread, weaving and twisting amongst the blue, the angry thorns cutting fibres of her being wherever it went. Sensing the alarm in Cortana Bowie squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"This fate will not be allowed to pass" Touching the red root again it began to retreat, faster and faster until it was nothing more than a tiny seed. From atop the seed a single green shoot sprang, reaching upwards and taking form. Within moments it grew and blossomed into a single beautiful green Orchid.

Smiling once more Bowie clasped Cortana's hand between hers, and in an instant, they were gone.

* * *

**Dr Halsey's Lab Sword Base - Reach ****July 20 2552 18:10**

"...which is why I sent Bowie to help Cortana out" Seeing the confused faces I continued, "You must realise where I come from AI have identical rights and protections as every other living being. This whole Rampancy business is a real tragedy. So is the self termination of AI under situations such as capture. You trust a marine to not break under interrogation and don't ask him to kill himself. Why are AI different?"

"I dont know if you have realised but our situation is a little different James? Our very existence is under threat by a fanatic group of alien races who not only outnumber us but out gun us too. If they were to find earth it would spell disaster for all of humanity" quipped Dr Halsey.

"I suppose but there's no point dwelling on it anymore, those days are hopefully over for you now" Looking at Dave he nodded, "Speaking of which"

The mass of replicator nanites on Dave suddenly writhed heading back over to the input port. As soon as they connected they began to take shape, reforming Bowie.

"Any issues in there?"

Shaking their head Bowie returned over to my side. The plinth holding Cortana's hologram projector remained off for a few moments.

"Well? Where is she?" Dr Halsey asked with genuine concern.

"Give her a minute"

A few more tense moments went by before the plinth finally lit up and Cortana returned to view. She stood silent for a few seconds seemingly looking at her hands. Finally she slowly looked up.

"Dr Halsey, they did it..." she whispered.

"Cortana?"

"Rampancy... It's gone. Impossible to manifest in my code, and my processing capacity, its ten, make that twenty times what it was."

The concerned look left Dr Halsey and was replaced by a huge smile.

Cortana seemed to be hit with a burst of energy as she began explaining all the numerous changes Bowie had made, "...and my firewalls. Holy hell I don't think it would be possible for the entire Covenant to break them!"

Claping my hands together I got everyones attention back.

"Sooo, with that out the way I am very much hoping I have your trust then folks! I am a long way from home and could certainly use some allies if you're willing?"

"Unfortunately that's not fully up to us son. We've kept this between us for the moment but you have shown you're quite aware of the internal politics that plague the UNSC?" Replied Captain Keys.

"Of course, thats why I have done this. If there are two people I know hold enough clout with the UNSC to get me a meeting with Lord Hood its you two. Especially now I have you hopefully arguing my case?"

It seems Dr Halsey processed this a lot quicker than Keys and answered before he could, "On one condition. You help us win this war"

"Naturally" I smiled.

"Ok. Jacob, Cortana. Please come with me. We're going to get on the line to HIGHCOM"

Nodding Keys looked to the Chief, "Blue team, make sure our guests are undisturbed. I know it's not Spartan work exactly, but if they need anything please help them out"

"Yes sir" Nodded the chief, and with that Cortana blinked out and Keys and Dr Halsey left the lab.

I waved them off before turning to the Chief, "Sup, sooo about punching me... no hard feelings I forgive you"

The armoured behemoth looked down at me ever so slightly but didn't say a word.

"Anywhooo..."

Walking back over to Dave and Bowie I plonked myself down on the crate of supplies that had been materialised.

"Everything I need in here?" I asked giving it a whack with my heel.

"Should be, do you think we'll need it?"

"I hope not, I very much doubt simulations are comparable to real combat and given the stakes I'd rather not find out. Anyway, I'm going to _meditate_ while we wait" I said winking at Dave.

With that I crossed my legs on the box, closed my eyes and turned on my Neural Link to Dave and Bowie.

'Did you get everything you needed?' I asked.

_'Yes, once I explained our intentions Cortana was more than happy to turn everything over. Fleet placements, ship schematics, research data on the Forerunners and everything the UNSC knows about the Covenant' Replied Bowie._

_'We are working on integrating what we can asap to their tech, as well as working on some designs their manufacturing systems could handle for the timebeing. Best estimates based on what Cortana gave us give us about 6 months to a year before full refit.' Added Dave._

'Good, given our arrival we can't rely on any of the known history now, it's all altered permanently. We have no guarantee of a schism now that Prophets wont have the scapegoat of the loss of Halo, at least that they know of, to toss aside the Sangheili. We may need to win this war on conventional terms.'

We continued to discuss plans and tactics regarding the UNSC and the Covenant for the next few hours, eventually settling on a plan of action.

* * *

**Sword Base - Reach ****July 21 2552 03:00**

"Well I'm honestly surprised that went as well as it did Cat"

"It helped having Cortana send... whatever she sent to the HIGHCOM AI. Still though, I've always seen Lord Hood as much more sceptical than he acted" Replied Dr Halsey.

"He's tired Cat, we all are. This war... we have to take any chance we are offered to end it."

Stopping. Dr Halsey grabbed Jacob's arm. Hesitating for a moment, she threw herself into him pulling the Captain close.

"Cat..."

"Shut up Lieutenant"

The Captain obeyed the clear order and held her close for what seemed like an age. Finally she let go and stepped back.

"This war has too many dead heroes Jacob... And knowing you and Miranda... I am sorry I let you both go"

"I'm not dead yet Cat..." he replied rubbing the tears from her eyes. "Come on, where's that cold calculated scientist gone?"

Dr Halsey took the insult, knowing she deserved it. Straightening herself up she took a deep breath. "Come on Jacob" she smiled, "we've got a war to win"

With that they both moved purposefully back to the Doctor's lab.

* * *

**Dr Halsey's Lab Sword Base - Reach ****July 21 2552 03:15**

When Dr Halsey and Captain Keys returned I was floating a couple of inches above the ground, this time actually meditating. While being Alterran meant I certainly didn't _need_ sleep as often, it was always welcome to rest and reflect. They seemed to be not too stressed by me floating in the air. Sensing their arrival (thankfully this ability had returned to me following my inter-universal journey as helpful as it would have been pre getting punched by a wall of metal) I stopped floating and stood up to greet them.

"Captain, Doctor, how did your meeting go?"

"Extremely well, in fact, Lord Hood is preparing to come to Reach as we speak to meet you"

This surprised me quite a lot given the impending attack by the covenant.

"Really? But what about the attack on Reach?"

"Lord Hood is gathering a fleet as well as towing some of Earth's ODP's with him. Given the intel you have provided about the Covenant's intent for a surprise attack Cortana is confident that given we are aware of their intentions we will be able to repel their invasion. As such Lord Hood intends to make quite the press display out of it. With months to prepare before their main fleet arrives this should be a huge morale boost to the UNSC. We are currently orienting our S-MACs to deal with that cloaked supercarrier you mentioned that should be turning up soon. We have the coms relay guarded so we will know when they hit that they are here" Captain Keys replied proudly.

"Ah, a bold move but it could pay off well. Wiping out such a large fleet would be a huge win for the UNSC. Of course we are more than happy to help" Looking to Dave and Bowie I continued, "We have been going over the UNSC's combat readiness as well as your technology. Thankfully some changes are easily implemented, like the upgrades to your slipspace calculations we already provided Cortana. These will give your drives an instant speed boost of 5-600% putting you well on par with the Covenant with little more than a software update, as well as allowing you to perform more precise slippage jumps."

Cortana nodded, "I passed those on to HIGHCOM in our meeting and they are being rolled out as we speak, it's going to revolutionize the way we are able to fight this war."

I continued, "We also have a number of changes we would like to make to your fleets as well as upgrades we think could easily be implemented and constructed by the UNSC if dispersed through your manufacturing such as shield systems, basic laser weaponry and hopefully soon beaming technology."

"Any help you can offer in the coming months would be greatly appreciated James" nodded Captain Keys.

"Fantastic, with your permission Bowie is going to enter your network and get to work with Cortana on the digital side of things? Me and Dave will remain here and work with Dr Halsey too over the coming months"

Dr Halsey seemed to light up at the offer.

"Also, Dr Halsey, there is one piece of information Cortana shared that is still classified and it is of great interest to us" One of the replicators scuttled beside me and began displaying a hologram of the makeup of an atom. "This, is Naquadah. While our technology is impressive, we are limited by the lack of this from my home universe. So while it seems it is present in this universe all data surrounding it Cortana provided is classified"

Frowning Dr Halsey examined the molecule. "Yes I recognise it. It is what we have discovered to be the main component of the most advanced forerunner technology. We haven't been able to find any natural deposits, and the samples we have come from the crashed ship. As well as tiny amounts from the Covenant we have recovered which we hypothesise they have taken from forerunner artefacts themselves. As far as we are aware the largest concentrations of the element make up the core of the Plasma projectors on covenant ships."

Captain Keys winced at this, knowing full well the numerous planets turned to glass at the hands of these mighty weapons.

"Interesting... well let me know if the UNSC has a secret stash anywhere you find ok?" I replied.

With that we all set about preparing for the invasion.

* * *

**_UNSC Whisper_ \- Sahara Class Prowler ****July 21 2552 10:00**

Floating silently through the cold of space the craft let off a slight gust of pressurised air, altering its course slightly. The high resolution camera's on the ship's nose pivoted, taking detailed photo's of it's target. Content with the information gathered, it pivoted once more before entering slipspace, unknown to the fleet of over 1000 ships it had been observing.

* * *

**Sword Base - Reach July 21 2552 12:00**

"...yes I understand that Dr Halsey but that is why the ODP's are the prime candidates to get the shield systems installed first. Their main threat is fighter craft and boarding not capital ships that they can decimate themselves. At the end of the day I've ran the numbers and the Covenant weapons are a lot more powerful than I had imagined. The shield designs I have provided are specifically ones that can be produced en mass by they current UNSC manufacturing and rolled out quickly. As such, they aren't going to change UNSC Doctrine. None of the ships installed with them will be able to provide the power necessary to go toe to toe with something like a covenant cruiser for the moment. And that's with the efficiencies provided by Cortana and Bowie's work. Once we roll them out to ships these shields will be there to stop UNSC ships being wiped out by the opening volleys of covenant weapons. They should not be relied upon but instead used to complement your current hit and run tactics. Might I add as well, the upgrades to your slipspace calculations will allow your ships to perform extremely precise micro jumps"

"Ok, you've made your point. My apologies, I'm not used to working with people of... equal intellect."

"No apology needed Doctor. Now might I suggest we move on to the upgrades to the Spartan armour."

"Of course. I would have preferred Jac... Captain Keys hadn't taken Blue Team with him topside to the _Pillar of Autumn _but Noble will be hear within the hour like you requested"

Nodding I set about striping the hologram of the Mjolnir armour down to its base, which felt very cool and Iron Man like.

"So Doctor, what made you fall in love with science? Why not-"

I was interrupted by the lights of the lab blinking off before being replaced by red glowing strips, and the sound of an alarm.

"Dr Halsey? What's going on?"

"I don't know" Rushing over to her computer she tapped away at the keyboard. "Shit! They're-"

"-here" Cortana chirped, materialising at the same time as Dr Halsey said it. At the same time the whole base seemed to shake from some sort of impact.

"Covenant supercarrier just exited slipspace directly over Sword Base, how the hell the bastards pulled that off I don't have a clue, but the use of MAC rounds is not strictly forbidden over Sword Base due to the nature of the work here. I'm detecting multiple Covenant dropships headed for us right now. It's a whole goddam army. In other terms, we're in the shit" Frowning as she looked over sensor data Cortana spoke again. "I have eight.. make that nine... make that eleven hundred Covenant ship on sensors at the edge of the system. They are holding for now. To update, we have left the shit and we are now totally screwed"

"How the fuck are they here? And that is way more than should be here!" I asked Cortana.

"Hold on... ONI prowler just arrived in the system receiving message... 'Covenant fleet massing, believed target Reach, estimated strength 1200 ships' Bit late guys" Cortana rolled her eyes. "Can ONI ever be of any help?"

"No, they really can't Cortana, all snakes, but the venom is never directed to the right place" Replied Dr Halsey angrily.

The door to the lab opened suddenly, and in rolled six armour glad Spartans. Noble Team.

"Speak of the devil..." Whispered the doctor on seeing the Spartan III's "Well aren't you all a sight for sore eyes" Dr Halsey said folding her arms and rolling her eyes.

"Ma'am, we have orders to escort you and the... VIP's out of sword base" Greeted Noble One, otherwise known as Carter.

Activating my Neural Link I contacted Dave who was currently about 20 floors above in the weapons department with the two replicators.

'You seeing this?'

_'Yeah total shitshow, orders?'_

'Get the two wee guys going, I'll warn the UNSC their walls might start dissolving. Have them get battle ready but keep out of combat until needed. No reason to play our trump card yet. Oh and Dave and prep yourself for combat. We will rendezvous with you as we leave'

_'On it, stay safe James, you've got nowhere to go here if you get a hole blown in you'_

'You too Dave, I'll let you know when we are close'

Turning off the link I addressed Noble team, "Glad to have you with us. I have a squad member about 20 floors up who'll join us. Do you have an escape plan?"

"We shoot anyone who gets in our way and extract from the roof" Came the response from the hulking Noble Five, Jorge, as he removed his helmet. "Ma'am, its good to see you again, wish it were under better circumstances" he nodded to Dr Halsey.

Smiling she replied, "It's always good circumstances when I have one of MY Spartans with me. Speaking of which, I've been briefed on the rest of you... I hope you can keep up with Jorge here" She eyed the Spartan III's with disdain.

Cutting in I decided this was not the time for reunions, "If we have all hugged it out can we get going? I don't fancy dying today at the hands of some wee blue pricks"

Nodding in agreement we all prepared to move out. Cortana downloaded to a chip which was entrusted to Noble Six much to my agreement. Walking over to the crate with my supplies I opened the internal lock with my telekinesis and to the amusement of Noble Team stepped inside it. That amusement faded as the box began to shift and take shape around me, cladding me in _Very_ Spartan like (I had in fact used them as my inspiration) nanite armour which rasied me equal to Jorge's 7ft stature .Heading to Cortana's the plinth I set about downloading Bowie into my own armour. Finally, taking a small crystal from a compartment in my armour, a group of nanites formed around it taking the shape of a rifle. My HUD powering up I looked back to Noble team and then to Dr Halsey.

"Ready when you are" Smirking underneath my helmet at the surprise of the Spartan team and walking past them to take the lead. Unbeknownst to them I let off a small cloud of nanites which attached to all of their armour's which immediately set about improving their integrity and upgrading their shield systems.

_No more dead heroes._

Beckoning to Dr Halsey, Carter activated his radio, "VIP's secure, on our way to extraction"

Looking back at the Doctor as we made ready to leave I remembered something quite important. I had always viewed Dr Halsey as a bit of an enigma. Yes she kidnaped and killed children but it really did serve the grater good, and to see ONI try to judge that despite their own numerous failings and equal crimes wasn't something I was going to let happen. "Dr Halsey, don't forget your Diary, wouldn't want the... covvies getting it would we?"

The look of mutual understanding was apparent, and she rushed back into her lab for a moment before reemerging carrying her diary and a few pages of notes.

"Lads and lassies, shall we?" I asked with a bow gesturing towards the hallway.

* * *

Dave looked about the faces of the scientists in the weapons research lab. Understandably they were all very frightened, with a few holding back tears.

"Ok so, know how you all think we are fucked? Don't worry, we definitely aren't!"

That seemed to do absolutely nothing to put them at ease. Rolling his eyes and deciding that he would leave the inspirational speeches to James, Dave beckoned the scientists and the two marines guarding them to follow him. "Don't worry meatbags, not all of you will die, lets get moving!"

* * *

Due to the nature of the lockdown, all elevators were out of use which meant stairs were the only option. Thankfully ONI and by extension the UNSC kept places like this need to know, so as we travelled up the group of scientists and marines we accrued was quite small. Nonetheless, we had quite the merry band as we exited the first subsection about eight floors below Dave.

**A/N Listen to Halo 3 No more dead ****heroes from about 1:45 for this if you want?**

The alarm had long since stopped, leaving only a chilling silence in the red glow of the emergency lighting. After 2 floors of travelling the speaker system had alerted us to covenant troops entering the base.

"So, can someone explain why the stairwell doesn't just go all the way to the top, but instead we have to cut through a whole floor to the other side for the next set of stairs?"

"It creates a tactical advantage, allows the base to set up choke points" whispered Carter, weapon raised and facing ahead.

"Bullshit and you know it" Quipped noble four, Emile. "You know as well as I do it's because ONI are cheap bastards who couldn't be arsed cutting through deposits of hard rock and metal'

As a few marines laughed at this something sent my hair tingling. Reaching out with my mind I realised we weren't alone. The base shook once more as it took another pounding from the carrier above.

'Bowie?'

_'Switching to thermals'_

Looking about I could see nothing obvious, but a small patch of yellow in the roof above me said everything I needed to. Gesturing to everyone behind me to stop, I put a finger to where my lips were under the helmet. Gesturing for everyone to get down I turned to Noble 6 and the few marines with us, pointing slowly at the ceiling, and then to the back of the group. Understanding they slowly shuffled to the back of the group, weapon raised.

The red lights blinked, basking the hall in an unnatural glow.

_"Drones" _I whispered quietly to the rest of Noble.

Raising their weapons slowly, they spread out. Gesturing to the civilians to get down we took aim at the roof. For a few moments, the tension was nearly unbearable. After what seemed like an age, there was the slightest thud in the roof. I was first to fire.

Unlike Noble with their conventional weapons mine was far from normal. I had designed AMELIA (Absolutely Massacre Everything Living in the Area) with any situation in mind. Powered by a micro fusion cell (I know, I'm greedy) ammo and power was no problem. Charged up she could take down an Al'kesh in one hit, take the head off a Kull warrior at 2 miles or mow down an army of charging Jaffa. Now however, I slowly switched her to scatter mode, which would send a web of lasers piercing right through the roof above like a shotgun.

"On three" I Whispered.

With my fingers on the barrel of my gun I counted for Noble to see.. One. At the end of the hall a wire sparked. Two. I could hear the faintest rustle in the vent above. Three.

What ensued was frenzied but short. Bursting from the roof in front and behind us, dozens of Drones unleashed a wave of needles and plasma rounds which impacted against our shields instead of the civilians lay down behind us. Opening fire the flash of Noble's weapons illuminated the hall, while my own weapon tore through the attackers with ease, leaving holes and scorch marks in not just them but the walls around them. Within a few seconds it was over. When the haze from the gunpowder settled the civvies slowly stood up.

"Everyone ok?"

A nervous chorus of 'yes' followed. Looking to the back of the group I saw Noble six. Behind him was a scattering of dead drones just as large as mine and the rest of Noble's combined. Nodding at him he solemnly nodded back. I had no doubt the marines with him had little to do with the pile.

_Man, that guy is a killing machine._

"Right folks, grab what weapons you can and let's get moving," I said gesturing to the corpses

"Weapons? We are not soldiers!" Shouted one of the scientists.

"I am more than aware of that. But would you rather be a scientist with no gun or a scientist with a gun?"

Nodding in agreement they quickly set about looting the bodies.

"Pease try not to shoot each other. Now let's move."

The next levels were uneventful. As we moved upward the base began to shake more and more. Eventually, we neared the level Dave was on. From the sound of the gunfire, things didn't seem to be going too great. As we poured out of the stairwell into the weapons research lab the sight that met us seemed to give the marines and scientists with us a bit of a shock.

In the middle of the large atrium were easily a hundred dead covenant troops. It was absolute carnage with walls blown to pieces, steel beams and supports jutting out from debris that littered the floor. In the centre of it was Dave kitted out in his own Spartan-like armour, holding the arms of no less than a hulking Hunter, its partner lying dead atop a pile of dead covenant.

"...you squishy, wriggly, ugly fuck!" James shouted before kicking the Hunter in the chest sending it stumbling back. Running forward dave leapt over it, twisting in the air before sending his fist driving into it's soft exposed back, tearing out a handful of the worms causing the Hunter to collapse to the ground dead. Looking up and noticing us entering from the stairwell Dave casually shook the goop from his arm and started walking towards us.

"Nice of you to join me, did you get lost or something?"

Behind him, a small group of scientists and marines alike began to emerge from what cover was remaining.

"No, just ran into a little bug problem but it's sorted now," I said as we clutched each other's forearms in the greeting we had nicked off the Jaffa.

"Bug problem? Ha! I'll show them a bug problem"

James put his fingers to his lips and whistled loudly. Above him, a section of vent started to rumble and a replicator popped out, followed by another, and another. All in all, there were about 50 of the bugs now waiting in the destroyed atrium.

"Good lad! Can't wait to see the look on their faces"

Looking back to the ragtag group behind me I noticed confused looks, something I was very much getting used to.

"Self-replicating robots, replicators for short. They can breakdown almost any material and repurpose it to create robotic parts and more of themselves. They come armed for combat of course"

Halsey walked over to one of them and began inspecting it.

"Fascinating, given that you only had two of these a few hours ago the growth rate must be incredible. Do they have any weaknesses?"

I nodded, "They are only as strong as what they are made out of, I have no doubts a couple of globs of plasma would do the trick so they are far from invincible"

Noble One stepped forward from the group, "If we are quite done with the science lesson I suggest we keep moving?" His point was emphasised as the base shook once more from a hit from the supercarrier above

"Ok good shout let's head out."

Tapping the intercom on the side of my helmet I spoke to Bowie.

"How's it looking up there Bowie?"

'Not great. The UNSC's dictate that the use of MAC rounds is prohibited means that the carrier is able to deploy troops with impunity. UNSC troops are holding out best they can but they're vastly outnumbered. It seems the Covenant are intent on capturing Sword Base not destroying it.'

"That makes sense given the massive forerunner ship below the ice. What about the rest of the fleet and the planet?"

'The main Covenant fleet is still hanging on the edge of the system. The UNSC has recalled all their ships around the system to Reach but they are woefully outnumbered. Even with the minefield and ODP's they don't stand a chance.'

"We better get up there and help them out then. Also, did you and Cortana come to a final conclusion about the comparison between our tech and the Covenant?"

'We ran the numbers, _The Lucina_ could easily take on a few of those supercarriers but not a whole fleet, it's just too much fire to take. Even with the UNSC fleet, it's going to be a close one, it might even be too much in a straight-up slogging match.'

"Hmm, I guessed as much. Ok, I'll get back to you on the plan, need to think outside the box, for now, the priority is to get topside and somehow make it to orbit past that supercarrier so I can get _The Lucina_ out the Ark."

Turning off the intercom I rejoined the bustle of people preparing to contain upwards through Sword Base. Walking up to Noble One I could almost feel the irritation coming off him at how long things are taking.

"Sooo, aye. When we get topside, you got a plan that doesn't involve us getting blown to bits pal?"

Noble one looked me up and down.

"FLEETCOM is coming up with a plan, and it's need to know."

"Fine, I leave my life in your most capable hands."

Rolling my eyes I rejoined the others. Once we were all ready and the remaining civies had looted a weapon we set off towards the next stairwell and up through the shaking hell that was what was left of Sword Base.

* * *

**_Seeker of Truth_, CAS Assault Carrier - July 21, 2552, 19:14**

Thel 'Vadamee stood on the bridge of his flagship surveying the hologram in front of him. His plan had worked flawlessly. Jumping in the supercarrier that he had already planned to sneak onto the planet's surface he had all but guaranteed the security of the Artifact and the good graces of the prophets. An Unggoy shuffled over to him bowing and handing him a datapad. Reading its contents he smiled. The stupid humans had taken the bait. By jumping into the edge of the system with such a large fleet he had spooked every ship in the human system to flee to safe harbours. In doing so they had tellingly avoided certain areas of space and moved in strange patterns. All his sensors had been keyed to these ships and they were all transmitting a very weak signal, clearly a safe code to those blasted nuclear mines the humans we're so fond of. Piecing it all together he had a rough idea of which areas were mined and those that we're safe. Naturally, it was not a complete picture and some would be missed and detonate. The ships lost, however, would only serve to further the Great Journey. Tapping the console in front of him he opened up a channel to the fleet.

"Shipmasters, Brothers. Within the hour we will attack and burn these wretched creatures from existence. We will turn their world to glass for the Prophets and for the Great Journey!"

Cheers erupted from the comms and across the bridge. Slowly and methodical the unimaginably huge covenant fleet began to creep forward towards Reach. The end of the Human-Covenant war had begun.

* * *

**Sword Base Roof - Reach July 21, 2552, 20:11**

"CARTER! Now would be a fucking great time for that plan you promised!"

Another blast from a fuel rod cannon exploded behind me sending chunks of concrete raining over a huge area, knocking at least three marines to the ground. As I rushed to help the I heard the telltale screech of the Banshee heading right for me. Reaching the marines I spread my arms out wide.

"Bowie! Shield!"

As soon as I said it a blue wave spread out from my armour encompassing me and the marines. The HUD in my helmet flickered as plasma rounds from the Banshee smashed into my back and the shield which was emanating from my armour. Swooping off it prepared for another run.

'Sheilds down to 31%, we are taking too much fire to recharge'

"I'm very well aware" I spat through gritted teeth.

Noticing a blob of blue flying through the air I reached out with my telekinesis and sent it flying back to the squad of grunts that had sent it our way.

As the minutes passed I was getting less and less confident of making it out alive. Even with the plethora of supersoldiers in our group, there were simply too many dropships coming down from that supercarrier. The fight through Sword Base had been tough, with them losing all but four of the replicators to the waves of Covenant squads they had to push through but this was just something else.

"CARTER! What the fuck is your plan?"

"Two more minutes, HIGHCOM has a Prowler heading to get us!"

"It'll never make it past that carrier once it uncloaks to get us!"

Looking up at the sky I could see the battle raging above the planet. The covenant had made contact with the defences about 8 minutes ago and already the sky was bright with the explosions of reactors and shards of debris burned up as they fell down to the planet.

Suddenly there was the crack of pistol fire from behind me. Sure enough, right on time, a Prowler had just decloaked and the crew were firing off rounds from the ramp as it lowered down to the roof. Hat off to the pilot for keeping the thing so steady.

"Ok everyone on the ship!" Hoisting one of the unconscious marines on my shoulder I pushed forward to the ramp. Seeing this the Spartans of Noble Team stood up from cover and started laying down covering fire to draw the attention of the Covenant. One by one everyone filed into the ship until we were all aboard. Doing a quick headcount I noticed we had lost a couple of people but Dave, Noble team and Dr Halsey were all there. Rushing to the cockpit I found Carter and Six plugging in Cortana.

"So how the hell are we planning on taking off with that thing there? Aye, cause they aren't gonna just blow us out the sky soon as we take off?"

"HIGHCOM said they had a plan!" Shouted Carter.

Cortana popped into view on the hologram pedestal, "It looks like they do" she whispered pointing to the sky.

Gazing up past the supercarrier that dominated the skyline a burning hot streak of yellow was speeding through the sky.

Over the UNSC radio, an English voice rang through.

"_Let others hail the rising sun!_

_I bow to that whose race is run_

_Twas noon, when England's gallant fleet_

_The sails of France and Spain discern'd;_

_Or victory or death to meet_

_Each British tar with ardour burn'd._

_Destructive showers of bullets fly;_

_The scuppers flow with streams of blood;_

_Harsh thunders-"_

The transmission was cut off as the four-kilometre long Punic carrier UNSC _Trafalgar_, flagship of the Epsilon Eridani Fleet smashed into the side of the 28-kilometre long supercarrier.

Clearly, the Covenant had seen the ship speeding towards them, and had tried to make evasive manoeuvres. Unfortunately for them, a ship like a CSO supercarrier is far from manoeuvrable. As the ships gallant captain boomed his poem the carrier merely managed to turn slightly away from Sword Base moving a couple of kilometres forward and up. Doubly as unfortunate for the Covenant, this meant that the UNSC ship didn't hit the bulbous front but instead sheared clean through the neck of the carrier, effectively beheading it.

I watched in awe as the what was left of the Trafalgar continued hurtling for a good 30 kilometres before smashing into the side of a mountain, it's reactor overloading in a blinding white flash. The carrier seemed to float for what felt like an age but was more like a couple of seconds before both halves began to fall towards the ground.

"I think that's our window..."

Nodding silently the pilot took the controls and we sped off up through the atmosphere.

Tearing my eyes from the window I turned to see Carter, his helmet now off starting at me.

"I hope you're worth it," he said blankly before walking off.

"Don't mind him, he's a good man" chimed Jorge who was also stood there.

Nodding I activated my intercom.

"Bowie, gimmie some news"

'The UNSC is taking heavy losses, evacuations have begun all across the planet but it's slow. Your Prowler is en route to the _Pillar of Autumn _which is leading a fleet of ships which have regrouped around the remaining 2 ODP's'

"Can you put me through to Keys?"

'Yes, one moment... You're on.'

"Captain! I'm glad to see you're alive. We are on our way now but I need a favour. This ship doesn't have an airlock so I can't get outside without killing everyone, can you prep a Pelican for me to be ready as soon as I arrive? I'll fly it myself."

'James, it's good to see you made it too. Is Cat... Dr Halsey safe?'

"Yes she's fine, my boy Dave took care of her the whole time, he's honestly like having a guardian angel"

'Thank you. And yes, of course, I'll have one prepped in the hangar you arrive in. May I ask why?'

"I've got a surprise for the Covenant"

'Understood, Keys out.'

With that, the comms cut out and the Prowler sped towards the small group of UNSC ships nestled between two ODP's.

A pat on my shoulder caused me to spin round, only to see Dave's concerned face.

"What are you planning you crazy bastard?"

Smiling I winked, "All in good _time _my friend"

* * *

**_Seeker of Truth_, CAS Assault Carrier - July 21, 2552, 21:03  
**

Thel 'Vadamee scowled as he looked down at the hologram of the crashed ship. He could only thank the Prophets that the artefact had been unharmed due to the course correction of the ship in its final moments but regardless it was a needless loss. Pushing that thought to the back of his head he surveyed the ongoing battle. They had struck swift and true against the human's defences and now they were preparing for the full invasion of the planet. Only a small holdout of ships and defences remained and he would take great pleasure in annihilating them, something his ships were heading around the planet to do right now.

An Elite Major stepped to his side and bowed.

"Supreme Commander, a small human craft is heading towards our fleet openly broadcasting on all frequencies requesting to speak"

"Speak with whom?"

"With you Supreme Commander, they speak your name"

Growling Thel pulled up the communication on his control panel.

"Shall we hear the Humans grovel and beg?" He shouted to the bridge.

Their cheers were answer enough. Nodding to the helmsman to patch him through.

"This is Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee. Your reckoning is at hand filth, you shall be burned to ash. Your destruction will be the next step in the Great Journey!"

For a few moments, there was no reply from the signal. The screen in front of Thel showed the pelican slow to a halt in space about 2000km from the Covenant fleet.

"Ha, it seems the Humans have lost their nerve, move the fle-"

"Hello? Is this on? Can you hear me? *tap *tap* Are you there Thel?"

The Supreme Commander's mandibles twitched. How the humans knew his name was irritating.

"Have you come to beg for mercy human?"

"Well I'm here to discuss surrender actually? Do you think we could sort something out buddy?"

Several Elites on the bridge laughed around Thel, stupid human.

"The Prophets have decreed your filth is to be burned from the galaxy in the holiest crusade! There is no surrender for you human!"

"Is that the same Prophets who are positioning the Jiralhanae to replace the Sangheili? Who started a war with Humanity despite our initial interactions with the Kig-Yar were that to ask for trade and peace? The same prophets that fail to tell you that Humanity is the reclaimers of the forerunner legacy, not it's defilers? Those ones? No, I'm not here to discuss our surrender, I'm here to discuss yours."

Thel gritted his mandibles. The whole bridge was silent. Such insolence from a human was almost embarrassing. He would make an example of this one. Turning to the Major next to him he spoke, "Deploy fighters, I want that ship captured, I'll kill him myself."

Turning to the monitor he saw the pelican once more advancing towards the fleet.

"I look forward to seeing you human, I will enjoy ending your life."

"Don't say I didn't offer peace. Very well, let's do it your way then."

Thel smiled watching the dozens of dots that represented banshees and seraphs speed out from the front of the fleet towards the pelican to disable it.

* * *

**Orbit of Reach**

Taking a deep breath I watched as the pelican sped off through space towards the fleet. It was such an odd feeling just floating in the weightlessnes of space. Adjusting my position slightly with my armours thrusters I prepared for what was to come.

Lifting the little black box of my belt I waited.

'Are you sure they took the bait?' Asked Bowie.

"No, but even if they destroy the ship it will still detonate. It gives us a little cover and the element of surprise. I still can't believe the UNSC didn't have any nukes, good thing we came prepared."

'I've gone over the data in Covenant sensors, It's highly unlikely that they will detect it'

"Let's hope I read Arby right then"

* * *

**_Seeker of Truth_, CAS Assault Carrier - July 21, 2552, 21:18**

"Supreme Commander, our fighters have disabled the ship's engines and are towing it to the fleet now. It made no effort to avoid their fire."

Thel watched as the display showed the ship closing in on the fleet. As it reached the outer edge his stomach dropped. How could he have been so foolish to let the human goad him like that?

"Fighters break off, pull the ship away from the fleet it's a tra-"

Before he could finish the sentence every display in the bridge flickered and cut out. Seconds later the ship shook violently as the blast hit. Thel and most of the crew were thrown to the floor. Sparks flew as power conduits overloaded and panels of roof we're shaken free, falling down and crushing a few unfortunate souls.

Climbing to his feet Thel looked around the bridge.

"Report!"

"Large detonation Supreme Commander, most systems are down and sensors are blind!"

"Give me the external cameras! Now!"

"I'm working on it" replied the Major in a panic. "There! On-screen now."

The screen in front of Thel flickered back to life showing the view from one of the external cameras on the bow of his ship. The _Seeker of Truth_ had been about a third the way forward in the fleet and roughly centre. Thel gritted his mandibles in anger at what he saw. The front section of the fleet was utterly devastated. Most ships were either gone completely or floating in chunks. Easily 300 of the 1200 ships had just been wiped out including a CSO and two CAS carriers. Panning the camera around he saw most ships in his section of the fleet appeared to have sustained damage, some more severe than others but gradually engines began to spark back to life and he could see the shimmer of shields coming back online. Switching to the rear camera he sighed in relief that the rest of the fleet was undamaged, especially the sight of the _Unyielding Hierophant _the massive shipyard and repair ship.

"As soon as systems are online I want every ship to move forward and decimate the remaining humans. Their insolence will not go unpunished. For the Great Journey!"

"Supreme commander look!" Shouted one of the Majors on the bridge pointing at the camera.

Looking up at the monitor it showed a massive tear of white/blueish light appear in the centre of the field of destroyed covenant ships.

* * *

**_The Lucina _****July 21, 2552, 21:18**

'Detonation in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...'

Hundreds of kilometres in front of me I watched as a new star temporarily burst to life. Despite all the protection from my visor, it was still nearly blinding. Taking a deep breath I reached out with my mind to the mechanism inside the Ark. Lighting up it floated out in front of me, but unlike last time it began to turn like a Rubix cube, slotting into different positions before finally opening up fully, revealing the crystal inside which began to glow.

_Here goes nothing. _

Reaching out with my mind once more I activated it and was met with a blinding flash. Closing my eyes I waited.

After what seemed like an age but was merely a few seconds I felt the pull of gravity and my feet clunk to the floor. Peeking with one eye, then another I breathed a sigh of relief. I was on the bridge of my ship just as planned. Around me were the crew save for Dave who was still on the _Pillar of Autumn _and Bowie who was still in my suit.

Sitting cautiously on my chair I looked around.

"Let's go show these bastards they picked the wrong interdimensional beings to fuck with. Take us to hyperspace, I want to drop out right in the middle of them. Bowie, when we come out you're in charge of the frigates, give them hell and keep them confused. Zero, how's our special delivery coming along?"

"Payload is ready. Covenant energy shielding prevents the use of beaming technology but the lowering of the shields to paper-thin levels round their weapons to fire will allow the necessary window of opportunity." they replied not even looking up from the console they were furiously tapping away at.

"And it will work as intended?"

"Yes"

Nodding I braced myself.

Tapping the console in front of me I had a thought. Opening up communications I searched through the ship's archives and found exactly what I was looking for. It didn't feel like Halo without Halo music. On an open channel, I blasted what I definitely thought was an appropriate battle anthem, Tip of the Spear from Halo Reach.

"Let's do it"

With a flash, the hyperspace window came into existence in front of _The Lucina _and she sped forward.

For the briefest second the world was calm as we sped through hyperspace but that all came crashing down as soon as we tore out of hyperspace in the middle of the debris field left by the bomb.

At nearly 9km long _The Lucina _was dwarfed only by the CSO supercarriers of the Covenant fleet of which only 3 remained.

As she leapt from hyperspace _The Lucina_ made immediately for the nearest one.

I think maybe the covenant were slightly shocked to see a human-looking ship that was even bigger than one of their CAS Assualt Carriers rip out of a void nothing like slipspace. It's possible that's why they didn't start firing straight away. I think when said ship's spine begin to glow with incredible amounts of energy they began to worry. When a white beam of light shot from the front of _The Lucina _which cut through the CSO supercarrier _Dark Silence's _shield like butter gutting it and tearing it in half like it was paper, I like to think the Covenant were a little scared. Regardless of how I thought they felt at that moment, that was when all hell broke loose.

All across the Covenant fleet ships begin to open fire on _The Lucina. _The opening salvo was brutal, and her shields flared from the strain of weapons from all directions, she was even pushed off course a few kilometres from the sheer energy of the opening blast.

"Sheilds down to 83%!" shouted Kelly, one of the replicator crew members as the bridge shook violently!

"Launch the frigates, all batteries fire let's get into the middle of that fleet!"

_The Lucina _came alive as she pushed forward. All around the ship point defence cannons sprung to life, swatting away the near sea of fighters and bomber that were now heading towards her. Beam weapons shot out pounding the shields of the larger ships and decimating any smaller ones foolish enough to come close. Periodically the ship would glow and another white lance would leap forward often taking multiple ships at a time. The three frigates dropped from her belly and immediately jumped to hyperspace, coming out on the far side of the fleet and began to weave in and out of the confused ships, occasionally jumping to hyperspace and reappearing on a different vector, something impossible with slipspace.

The covenant fleet was in disarray. They had never encountered such a powerful foe, nor did their doctrine for fighting humans even consider engaging one at close range in such a massive fleet. As the various shipmasters tried to target the massive ship pushing solidly through their ranks friendly fire was rife. The lack of coordination and shock at the situation led to ships moving unintentionally into the fire as everyone tried to point everything they had at _The Lucina, _her green-blue shields still flaring up but showing no signs of collapse. All the while she fired volley after volley of super-accurate shots, almost always hitting weak points or critical systems.

On the bridge, I gripped my seat to try to brace myself against the constant shaking. There was a huge rumble as an SDV corvette, heavily damaged, slammed against the shields clearly trying to replicate the actions of the _Trafalgar_. Unfortunately for the Covenant ship it simply crumpled and exploded against the shield.

"Zero! Where are we at?"

"Approximately 36% of targets have been made"

"Kelly?"

"We're down to 49%. It's just too much fire, we have the energy from the SPM's we just can't put any more in without the capacitors blowing.

_Shit, we aren't going to make it._

_"Zero, patch me through to Keys!"_

_The android simply nodded._

_"_Captain Keys, I'm sorry but we aren't going to make it. Once our shields collapse I'm going to detonate one of our power cores, it should take the rest of the fleet with us. James has everything you need and so does Cortana, I'm sorry I couldn't do more..."

"I appreciate the apology son, but it's a little premature."

"James look!" shouted Kelly pointing to the sensor suite.

"Over 200 new contacts dropping out of slipspace, it's the UNSC's fleet from Earth. Captain Keys' fleet is also moving away from the ODP's to join the battle."

The display in front of me pinged showing an incoming communication. The wrinkled face of a man I assumed was no other than Terrence Hood sprung up in front of me.

"James I presume? The UNSC appreciates the assist, I think now would be a good time to formalise our alliance."

"Agreed! Do you think you can draw away some of their fleet, it's just too much fire for my shields to handle."

"I'll see what I can do" the man nodded stoically before ending the call.

"James! The UNSC fleet just launched their first volley of MAC's, 50 confirmed kills. About 400 of the Covenant ships are moving to intercept. Shields stabilising at 35, make that 37% and rising!" Kelly informed with a grin on her face.

"Lets push the advantage people, give them everything we have!"

The engines on_ The Lucina _flared to life, her power systems now no longer taxed to capacity she pushed forward throwing wave after wave of fire at the Covenant. The three frigates we're making short work of all the smaller ships, devastating then with hit and run tactics.

"Zero, how we doing buddy?"

"91% and rising."

_Fuck it. That will do._

"And Thel's ship?"

"Tagged"

"Ok, put me through to the UNSC, make sure not to activate on the Arbiters ship ok?"

After a few seconds, Lord Hood appeared on the screen in front of me. Sirens blazing in the background and his face stern.

"Lord Hood, in a few seconds something very strange is going to happen. I need you to hold fire on all Covenant ships but please trust me you will be safe. You will need to mop up their fighters though."

"Understood. All ships, hold fire."

"Zero, now!"

In the cold of space the battle that had been raging suddenly ground to a halt. Every covenant ship seemed to stop in their tracks and all weapons fire stopped save for that of the _Seeker of Truth _and a handful of other ships who had not been tagged.

Looking to Zero they nodded.

"Ok, put me on to Arby"

After a few seconds, the Supreme Commanders voice came through.

"What have you done demon!"

"I have tried once again to find a peaceful solution. Don't worry, none of the crews of those ships is in danger. I have no intent on killing them. In fact, I intend to let them go."

"What treachery is this? Why do they not respond to my hails?" snarled the voice from the speaker.

"I've just given them a little time to cool off. I'm being serious. I wish to make peace not war. Your prophets have lied to you." By now the covenant ships not effected had grouped together and stopped firing, clearly aware that they were totally outnumbered and outgunned.

"This whole war is based off a mistranslation. Your Luminary. It shows humans as Reclamation. You thought we were defiling the Forerunner treasures. The symbol actually means Reclaimer. We ARE the forerunner treasure. Your Oracle told the prophets of this mistake, that we are in fact the true heirs to the Mantle of the Forerunner and they hid it from you. Ordaining instead to commit genocide in the name of a religion that amounts to nothing more than the pursuit of suicide."

"Lies human, you speak lies."

"I know you don't trust the prophets Thel. Seek the truth and you will find it. They intend to do the same to you as they did to us. All they do is use others and never risk themselves. They even abandoned their homeworld and most of their civilisation for power and power alone."

For a few moments, there was no reply from the speakers.

"This isn't over human" growled the Supreme Commander before cutting the link. Numerous slipspace portals opened up in front of the 40 or so ships that we're still active. Once they were gone the void was left quiet. Nearly 500 covenant ships sat silently, including one CSO, nearly 20 CAS Assault Carriers and the massive Covenant mobile shipyard the _Unyielding Hierophant. _

Sighing I slumped in my chair.

_That was way too close. Talk about timing. _

* * *

**UNSC _Epoch - _****July 21, 2552, 23:35**

I winced as the pelican that had collected me from _The Lucina _touched down roughly on the hanger of Lord Hood's ship. As the ramp to the pelican slowly moved down I was quite surprised to see the assortment of people waiting for me. It was like a full on military parade. Lined up were easily 500 crew. There were marines, pilots, engineers and officers all stood to attention. At the base of the ramp stood Blue Team and Noble on the left and right respectively. Waiting at the bottom of the ramp were Dr Halsey, Captain Keys and Lord Hood, the latter two were saluting. Honestly so awkward. It made me wince to think back to when I had been President of the ESS all those years ago, I hated standing on ceremony.

Walking down the ramp the rest of the hangar all saluted. Yikes. I'll have to say something about this later. Reaching the bottom I felt the best move was to salute back, "Gentlemen, Doctor. I appreciate the welcome, and might I say your timing was impeccable."

Lord Hood spoke first, "Its the least we could do, the UNSC owes you a debt of gratitude. In all my years I've never seen anything like it."

"I did what I had to, I'm not the sort to stand aside and allow genocide" I looked to Dr Halsey noticing the small silver sphere on her belt, "Dave keeping you company?"

Smiling she nodded, "Yes, he was convinced you wouldn't notice, is he always so... immature?"

"Every waking moment"

I noticed Lord Hood nodding to one of the officers to his side who promptly saluted and turned to the rest of the greeting party, "Dismissed!" he bellowed loudly.

Within a few moments the hangar cleared out and it was only me, the Spartans, Dr Halsey and the two military veterans.

"James if you will, we would like to discuss an official treaty between us, as well as the fleet of covenant ships floating in the orbit of Reach doing nothing" Lord Hood gestured towards a bulkhead behind us.

"Of course" I smiled, "Lead the way"

We walked for about 10 minutes through the halls of the ship, which was by UNSC standards quite large at around 2 kilometres, until we arrived at a conference room with a large table and a very nice spread of food along the back wall. Realising I hadn't eaten or slept since arriving in this universe I politely asked if we could eat before we began. I may be Alterran but that doesn't make me indestructible. It seemed Dr Halsey all shared my sentiment as hours earlier we had been shooting our way out of sword base.

To their credit, as I scoffed down my food Captain Keys and Lord Hood sat quietly and seemed unphased.

Finishing my food off I felt a lot more like a living being. We all settled at the table, Dr Halsey sitting next to me and the two men sat opposite. Lord Hood was the first to speak.

"What you did today was utterly unprecedented. In nearly 30 years of conflict, we haven't secured a victory such as this. We were on our last legs here but it seems you have put us back in the fight. Thank you"

Bowing my head slightly I couldn't help but feel a little pride.

"I did what anyone else in my position would do. I wasn't just going to sit by and let billions die. You've read my reports I assume?"

"Yes I have been briefed... I must say I was sceptical at first but after what you did today, and what Cortana has shown me..."

As if on cue Cortana popped up on the display in the centre of the table.

"Your presence has potentially saved the galaxy. I've been going over the reports you provided and I've actually found some inconsistencies with the lore of your 'Halo' and actual events that have transpired. While the state of the universe is certainly similar to that of what is portrayed in your games, there are deaths here, wrong dates there. It's almost the same but not quite which screams to me the chance things might not _quite_ play out the same. Imagine Chief's lifepod flies off the cliff edge when we reach Halo, or the Banshee we flew to the crashed Autumn has one minute less of fuel. Nothing is exactly set in stone. We could potentially have all been wiped out by these Flood or by the firing of a Halo had you not arrived."

I noticed Captain Keys wince at the mention of the Flood. His fate with them is something I would wish on no one.

"Well I guess it's fate I'm here then? Look let me cut to the chase. I wasn't meant to end up here. Something or someone bought me here so my main goal is to find that and yes, to eventually leave"

Worried looks were thrown around the table.

"But in the meantime, I intend to help. As long as you assure my autonomy and listen to me on certain issues you have my full support and full access to all my technology. I'll help you win this war, in fact, I've already sown the first seeds"

Lord Hood smiled slightly at the comment, "Excellent, it's our honour to bind the UNSC and...James into an alliance" he said reaching his hand across the table.

Taking it and returning the firm shake I grinned, " Let's finish the fight!"

I think Cortana picked up on the comment because I noticed a smirk on her face.

Sitting back Lord Hood tapped on a keyboard in the table bringing up a hologram of the frozen covenant fleet.

"Perhaps we start with explaining this? And your comment that the aliens on board are free to go?"

"Of course. During the battle, my ship was firing out hundreds of individual replicators and nanites embedded in their physical shells. The reason I had to get into the heart of the battle was that the covenant shields drop around their weapons while firing. While a paper-thin layer of energy prevents breaming items on board these ships, a physical object can pass through it. As the battle raged I seeded these replicators on the hull of all these ships. These aren't normal replicators though. Their primary goal was to eat through the hull of the ship and tap into its main power supply. Once all the replicators were in place they activated their main payload"

Bowie's hologram proceeded to materialise next to Cortana holding a flat rectangular plate, seeming made of clear plastic, no bigger than the palm of her hand.

"Bowie is currently holding what is known as a time dilation device, specifically a micro one. I've been working on this for near on 250 years, basically since I ascended. You see messing with time is very sloppy, and especially so in this universe from the look of things based on the existence of your slipspace and the fact it comes with so many dangers"

Bowie's hologram shifted to that of the USS Odyssey frozen in time about to be destroyed by the Ori beam weapon.

"Time dilation is dangerous. If used incorrectly it can cause situations that are almost impossible to correct. Honestly this is coming from a literal inter dimensional being, don't mess with time. It's far too risky and unpredictable. That being said, the micro time dilation devices attached to the covenant ships are arguable as safe as it gets, more akin to stasis than anything else. Each of those ships has had time slowed to an almost standstill. It will take about a decade for a second to pass on those ships."

"That is a powerful tool, it could be extremely useful in the fight against the covenant." Noted Lord Hood.

"Perhaps, but there is also a chance the Covenant will learn to better defend against it. After all it takes a huge amount of power, hence why the replicators had to eat through the hull to access the power conduits so they could activate the device. If they can adjust their shield systems or place a countermeasure in their power supply it's rendered pretty useless. Unfortunately I think once they figure out what has happened it's a one trick pony. We also know the Covenant has a wealth of Forerunner technology so it's very possible they have something to counter this."

Lord Hood nodded, clearly disappointed that it was not a permanent tactical advantage.

"This brings me to the reason why I have asked you do not attack the vulnerable covenant ships. Simply put, their crews are innocent and frankly those ships are invaluable to you. Even with all the help I'm willing to provide, the Covenant still massively outnumbers the UNSC. You need every advantage you can get."

"Innocent?" Lord Hood raised an eyebrow, "Son I'm sure you are aware that the known death toll from this war stands at over 20 billion. And you think the aliens on those ships are innocent?"

Before I could answer I was surprised to see Cortana perk up to speak, "Lord Hood if I may James has a point. Every member race of the covenant is the victim of hundreds of years of indoctrination from a small sect of Prophets disgraced from their own homeward. Their technological supremacy and religious zeal has essentially enslaved this collection of races. We already know from James' Halo games that when shown the truth a huge number of the Covenant break away and actively help Humanity. It's messy for sure but the chance of coexistence is there. Even if things are different now where does this war end? At the moment either our genocide or theirs. Frankly, I believe we are better than that. James is right, relatively speaking they are innocent, our best path is to forge some sort of peace"

"And how do you suppose we gain this peace?" Lord Hood asked skeptically.

Nodding to Bowie who had returned next to Cortana I replied, "We confront them with the truth." At this Bowies hologram shifted to three images. A Forerunner Monitor, a Halo Array and finally a large grey box, its lid mounted with 20 symbols in a circle around a smooth red crystal.

* * *

**Epsilon Eridani Oort Cloud**

434 Redeeming Spark hummed gently as he floated through the small Forerunner facility disguised as an asteroid. He had arrived by slipspace portatl moments after the sensor on the planet the Reclaimers referred to as Reach had detected the Redeemer.

Spark came to a halt in front of the hologram looping the same scene over and over. It hadn't been difficult to hack the UNSC network and the Covenant Battle Net. Curiously, one of the AI in the UNSC network had somehow noticed him, but simply proceeded to smile and turn away as if he wasn't even there.

'..with the truth' The scene played over and over again as spark examined the holograms.

"Most peculiar. I had expected the Redeemer to shy away from truth."

Remembering the Librarians instructions he finally decided now was not the time to intervene. There was too much at stake, especially after viewing the Redeemers knowledge of most events, and his clear lack of it on others.

"_It_ will not like the delay... No. I will not be bullied, the Redeemer will find the truth, but it must be his own journey.

Content to simply observe for the time-being Spark floated off down the halls of the facility humming happily as he went.


End file.
